A New Player in the Force (SW/Lite Gamer)

USSExplorer · May 21, 2024

Stats, Skills, Powers, Perks and Player Powers 5
This is just a listing of the current level, stats, skills, powers, perks and titles of Cameron.
If you are not too interested in the values that run behind the scenes, then you don't need to bother reading.
Current Date: Month 3 Year 968sRR (since Ruusan Reformation)

[Or 32BBY if you prefer that date system]

Stats Skills Perks/Powers/Titles Active Quests

Cameron Shan
Species: Human
Age: 17
Level 30
HP: 270/270
(-7.5% for lost limb)
Force Exhaustion [FE]: 0%
PP:60/60
XP [12875/40000]
STAM [1925/1950]
Hunger [56/100]
STR: 21 +
VIT: 22 +
AGI: 22 +
INT: 45 +
WIS: 35 +
CHA: 40 +
Luck: 15 + [+10]
SP: 0
SKP: 179
PerkP: 0
PPP: 0
Tier Boosts: 3
Credits: 174643375
...
Lightsaber Forms Weapon Styles Physical Skills Riding/Piloting Skills Rogue Skills Technical Skills Language Skills Medical Skills Combat Skills Mental Skills Social Skills Adult Skills Miscellaneous Tiers
- Form I: Shii-Cho
  PRODIGY 100
  Form II: Makashi
  PRODIGY 100
  Form III: Soresu
  Master 96
  Form IV: Ataru
  Master 56
  Form V: Shien
  Master 47
  Form V: Djem-So
  Master 34
  Form VI: Niman
  Master 5
  Form: Jar'Kai
  Adept 78
- Lightsaber [Standard]
  PRODIGY 100
  Lightsaber [Shoto]
  Adept 89
  Marksmanship
  Savant 97
  Melee Weapons [1-handed]
  Master 74
  Melee Weapons [2-handed]
  Adept 1
  Melee Weapons [Dual-Wielding]
  Master 2
  Melee Weapons [Thrown]
  Professional 64
  Ranged Weapons [1-handed]
  Savant 37
  Ranged Weapons [2-handed]
  Savant 37
  Ranged Weapons [Heavy]
  Adept 2
- Athletics
  Master 26
  Damage Resistance [Bio-Chemical]
  Professional 15
  Damage Resistance [Energy]
  Savant 9
  Damage Resistance [Physical]
  Professional 21
  Damage Resistance [Sonic]
  Professional 6
  Damage Resistance [Thermal]
  Novice 2 [LOCKED until 27BBY due to failure during Can't Touch Me quest]
  Hand to Hand
  Savant 2
  Martial Art: Beskar'pel
  Master 13
  Martial Art: Beskar'rev
  Master 13
  Martial Art: Teräs Käsi
  Professional 34
  Swimming
- Astrogation
  Master 13
  Piloting [Atmospheric]
  Master 2
  Piloting [Space]
  Master 66
  Riding [4-legged]
  Novice 73
- Lockpicking
  Novice 21
  Sleight of Hand
  Novice 58
  Stealth
  Master 9
- Computer [Electronics]
  Master 1
  Computer [Programming]
  Master 3
  Computer [Slicing]
  Professional 95
  Mechanics [Blasters]
  Professional 62
  Mechanics [Droids]
  Master 3
  Mechanics [Engines]
  Professional 98
  Mechanics [Fighters]
  Professional 43
  Mechanics [Lightsaber]
  Master 1
  Mechanics [Speeders]
  Adept 52
  Mechanics [Starships]
  Master 97
- Language [Basic]
  Prodigy 89
  Language [Binary]
  Professional 12
  Language [Durese]
  Novice 13
  Language [German]
  Adept 12
  Language [Huttese]
  Professional 21
  Language [Mando'a]
  Master 3
  Language [Rodese]
  Novice 17
  Language [Ryl]
  Adept 27
  Language [Shaddaboranese]
  Professional 27
  Language [Sullustese]
  Novice 25
  Language [Togruti]
  Adept 4
- Anatomy [Duros]
  Novice 17
  Anatomy [Human]
  Professional 45
  Anatomy [Ithorian]
  Novice 13
  Anatomy [Rodian]
  Novice 13
  Anatomy [Sullustan]
  Novice 15
  Anatomy [Togruta]
  Novice 12
  Anatomy [Trandoshan]
  Novice 12
  Anatomy [Twi'lek]
  Novice 35
  Anatomy [Yuuzhan Vong]
  Novice 36
  Anatomy [Weequay]
  Novice 2
  Anatomy [Zabrak]
  Novice 37
  Forensics
  Adept 33
  Medicine [First Aid]
  Master 3
  Medicine [Hospital]
  Adept 12
- Combined Arms Warfare
  Adept 65
  Planetary Warfare
  Adept 12
  Small Unit Warfare
  Master 97
  Warfare [Space]
  Adept 21
- Concentration
  MAXED
  Composure
  73/100
  Danger Sense
  65/100
  Meditation
  MAXED
  Teaching
  Prodigy 14
- Deception
  Master 76
  Intimidation/Taunting
  Master 67
  Lie Detection
  Master 57
  Musical Instrument [Synthtar]
  Adept 79
  Negotiation
  Professional 95
  Perception
  Professional 89
  Persuasion
  Savant 34
  Seduction/Flirting
  Professional 69
  Singing
  Professional 70
  Survival
  Master 14
- Foreplay
  Adept 89
  Kissing
  Professional 14
  Massage
  Novice 89
  Oral
  Adept 87
  Sex
  Professional 1
  Sexual Endurance
  Professional 55
- Cleaning
  Professional 43
  Cooking
  Adept 72
  Economics
  Adept 46
- Novice -> Adept -> Professional -> Master -> Savant -> Prodigy -> Legendary -> Paragon -> Mythic
  
  NOTE: Cam can only raise a Skill to the Paragon and Mythic tiers by spending Tier Boosts.
Perks Player Powers Titles
- Ambidextrous
  Boosted Growth [2/3] [20% extra XP]
  Eidetic Memory
  Empathy
  Enhanced Regeneration
  Heart of the Force [1/2]
  Shatterpoint Acclimatisation [1/6] [Next stage can be taken from Level 40]
- Heart of the Force [2/2]
  Inventory
  Observe
  Level Boost [1 time] [ Can next be taken at Level 40]
  Player's Body
  Reveal the Hidden
  Silent Interface
  Upgraded Minimap
- Jedi [3/5]
  Leader [7/10]
  Mando'ade
  Mtael
  The Player
(Letter under a quest is its rating)
NOTE: I'm not detailing the Objectives of the quests here. If you wish to see them, join the Discord server

Cash in Hand [¤]
[ B]
Time to earn some cash

Changing Fate [Anakin] [¤]
[S***]
Can you prevent the rise of Darth Vader?

Changing Fate [Dooku] [¤]
[A]
Can you change the fate of the Jedi known as Count Dooku?

Changing Fate [Miraj Scintel] [¤]
[ B]
Change the destiny or Miraj Scintel, and potentially all of Zygerria.

Changing Fate [Sifo-Dyas] [¤]
[ B]
Can you prevent or delay the death of Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas?

Flight of the Owl [¤]
[ B]
Prevent Bo-Katan Kryze from joining Death Watch

Forge your own Path
[N/A]
What will you do with your life?
Unlike most quests, some of the objectives here are mutually exclusive.

Pre-emptive Strike [¤]
[ B]
Find a way to handle Pre Vizsla before the outbreak of galactic war

Skilled to the Max [¤]
[D]
Max out your skills

Sister of the Night [¤]
[A]
Deal with Asajj Ventress before the outbreak of the Clone Wars

The Promise of the Fallen [ꝏ]
[ B]
Prove yourself to the one who was known as Revan

Training Superiority Mk2 [¤]
Variable
Win some training duels while a Knight.

Tremors of the Ancient Sith Empire
[S***]
Investigate the former capital of the Sith Empire that Revan tried to end then which later launched an all-out war on the Republic.

[ƍ] = Mission Quests Given when assigned a mission by another (HC, Senate, etc) Evolves as time passes.
[ꝏ] = Revan Quests Quests linked to Revan, his history and the path he wishes to guide Cam toward.
[ ] = Incident Quests Quests generated by the interface to reward/punish Cam for how he handles a situation/battle/event. Also used for quests given to suggest a path to take.
[¤] = User Defined Quests Quests Cam creates for himself. Generally short-term goals that the interface uses to reward Cam for an action he chooses.
[ɸ] = Challenge Quest Generated when someone challenges Cam to a duel/complete a task. Generally, this relates to something that must be done in a certain timeframe.
...
Training Quests
Training quests will not be listed below. These quests are linked to a skill's stratum and level, with no quest for the next stratum being available if the skill is level 50 or higher in the current stratum. There are 9 strata but training quests are only available for the first 6;
Novice, Adept, Professional, Master, Savant, Prodigy
...
Training Quests are only available from the Adept stratum upwards. The names of the quests based on strata aimed for is as such; Training Quest name:
Trainee, Competent, Expert, Generational, Legendary
targeted Strata aimed for:
Adept, Professional, Master, Savant, Prodigy

[/tabs]

USSExplorer · May 31, 2024

/N: Thanks to those helping me write and plan out this story and checking it for continuality and logical errors.

This chapter was released as an Early Bird on the story's Discord server (link at the end of the chapter) several weeks ago to those who are active on the server.
It has been available to those who support my writing (via links that are again at the end of the chapter) anywhere from the beginning of the month to 3 months in advance. For those who support my writing, and join the server, then it is possible to be 4 to 5 chapters ahead of public chapters.
Links for supporting my writing, or joining the Discord server, are at the end of the chapter.

NOTICE: This chapter was delayed due first to real-life issues, and then someone complaining about false information in the story on another site where I post. I thus had to discuss the matter with their moderators and alter significant sections of Book 2 to align with the rules of their site. Frankly, said rules are pedantic at best, but it is what it is.

3.03: Upgrades and Training
… …

The day following our dinner with Raith Sienar, I was sitting in the cockpit of Raven, accessing the Holonet communication system. We'd just returned to the Pride of Tion after I'd given Raith a short flight aboard Raven. To say he'd enjoyed it would be an understatement, and he'd marvelled at how responsive she was to my commands as I had her ducking, dodging, and weaving around his cruiser and a few other nearby vessels.

There'd been a complaint from Kuat Fleet Defence, and while Raith had calmed their nerves about my rather eccentric flying, we'd still had to cut the flight short. However, before Raith had departed, he'd asked – though I'd have classed it as begging if he had less refinement – for another flight once we left the Kuat system.

I'd agreed, and he'd been quick to promise both his expertise and the most cutting-edge researchers and designers under his command – who worked for a sub-company called Sienar Advanced Projects Laboratory – would analyse Raven and see what advances could be applied to her without causing her harm. Haran, before he'd left, he'd spoken to Raven directly to make that clear, and she'd responded positively to his vow.

We wouldn't be leaving immediately, as Raith had formal business to attend to with Kuat Drive Yards and a few other companies with operations in the Kuat system. Until we did leave, Anakin and I had almost free reign of the cruiser, with Arle Keer assigned to help us settle in. The assistant was with Anakin, taking him to a private room on the Tion where my Padawan could examine the design specs of several older models of vessels built by SST.

While that gave me some private time aboard Raven, I felt Raith was doing it as a test. I'd caught him being impressed by Anakin's knowledge and understanding of technical matters that he'd spoken of. I understood some of it, but Anakin was a savant when it came to technology, and it appeared that Raith had noticed this. While I hoped he didn't think he could poach Anakin from me, I was more than willing to allow the man the chance to push Anakin in a way I never could.

With this private time available, and suspecting that where we were going would have restricted access to the Holonet, I wanted to check in with Serra. It'd been about a month and a half since Naboo, and while I'd spoken with her a few times after the death of Drallig while we'd both still been on the planet, I'd been reluctant to reach out since.

While most of that came from taking Natural Selection, and fearing that, even at this distance, she'd sense the change in me just as Anakin had, much came from knowing she'd need time to grieve privately. She might be more emotional than many Jedi our age, but she was still a member of the Order and I know most people preferred quiet solitude to mourn the death of a family member, which, while not official, was what Drallig was to Serra.

A beep from the communication console indicated the signal had connected with the Temple and I waited for someone to answer my call.

"Knight Shan," a Rodian I'd never met before said after appearing as a hologram at the console, "how may I be of assistance?"

The computer terminal the Rodian was using would have noted the unique identifier code I'd sent with my signal, and with the holograms active, confirmed that I matched visual records. However, since he wasn't in robes, I suspected he was one of the myriad of sentients that worked in the Temple as staff, most having jobs that the Jedi either couldn't or didn't want.

"I was hoping to speak with Padawan Serra Keto."

"One moment." The Rodian looked down, accessing their terminal to locate where Serra was. "I'm sorry," he continued after looking up, "but Padawan Keto is currently unavailable. Not only do the records state she's in a training session, but her Master has requested that she not be contacted by any outside the Temple until he is comfortable that she has properly processed the death of Master Drallig, and released her burden into the Force."

I frowned, as even if I'd half-expected something like this, I didn't like it. The decision to prevent contact with any outside the Temple was, in my mind, a clear attempt to cut her off from me and others she might speak with, such as Padmé or Bo. Now, Padmé could, in theory, push the matter, but I doubted she would, thus Serra would be isolated from 'outside influences' allowing whoever her new Master was to reaffirm her commitment to the Order. "Understandable, but might I ask who her new Master is?" The odds were it was some random Jedi I knew only by name as I had a list in my head of about thousands, perhaps up to half, of Jedi, but at least that would give me someone to contact later if I wished to speak with my friend.

"Padawan Keto's training is to be completed by Master Windu."

"Oh." The response slipped from me before I could hide my shock and surprise. While Serra learning from one of the best in the Order was a relief, that it was the Master of the Order, and thus head of the Council, was something I was unsure about. While, in recent years Windu had been more supportive of my choices and actions, such as approving of my actions to help protect a member world of the Republic, my methods weren't choices he agreed with. "That's, um, unexpected. I hadn't thought a member of the Council would move to finish her training."

The Rodian nodded. "Yes, from what I've heard through the grapevine," I smirked at the reference to even the Jedi Temple having a rumour mill, "many are surprised by the choice. Master Windu hasn't taken a Padawan since Master Billaba, and many felt he'd not take another. Yet, he was a friend of Master Drallig, so perhaps he took over Padawan Keto's training to finish Master Drallig's final legacy."

"That makes sense," I replied, keeping my internal thoughts regarding Mace Windu finishing Serra's training to myself. When Drallig had arrived on Naboo, I'd been concerned that Serra's actions would see her reprimanded, if not sanctioned, by either the High Council or the Council of First Knowledge. I'd thought Drallig's death might mitigate that issue, but it seemed I'd been wrong, and now Master Windu was taking a personal interest in Serra's education.

While there were a lot of negatives to draw from that, the one major positive was that alongside Dooku, and the recently killed Master Bondara, Windu was regarded as one of the finest Jedi blade masters of their generation, perhaps even of the last millennium. Serra's training would be far more focused and advanced than what she'd have gotten from Drallig, who had to split her training alongside that of every Initiate, Youngling, Padawan, and even some Knights.

"Would you like me to connect you with Master Windu?" the Rodian asked.

"No, that won't be necessary," I replied without making it too obvious I didn't want to speak to a member of the Council. Beyond his concerns that I was too close to the various figures of power on and from Naboo – something that the gifting of a villa in Naboo's Lake District would only increase if he learnt of it – there was the change I'd undergone. It was possible that, at the distance between us, and with our weaker connection than what I shared with Serra, he'd not sense the shift in my Force presence. However, I felt it was unwise to test that theory.

"Could you connect me with Padawan Zill instead?" I asked, figuring I could check in with Tedra while also getting a connection to Serra via someone in the Temple. I could've chosen to speak with someone like Aayla or Sia-Lan, but neither was as loyal to me as Tedra was. So much so, that the last time I met her and used Observe – which was about three months before Naboo – her loyalty to me easily trumped that toward the Jedi or Lokella by significant margins.

"One moment." Again, I waited for the Rodian to check on a location. "Padawan Zill is currently not, according to my records, occupied. She is, however, located with her Master in one of the various training rooms. Would you like me to connect you with them?"

I considered the matter for a moment. "Please." While Tedra's Master was a highly skilled Jedi, she wasn't on the level of a Council member, at least not yet. The only concern was that my bond with this Master was higher than that of Windu, so she might sense the change. Still, I felt better about successfully lying to her than Windu.

The hologram of the Rodian disappeared, and I was left waiting until, perhaps a minute later, two figures replaced the Rodian in the holographic display.

"Cam!" Tedra called out excitedly, only to calm herself when her Master, Shaak Ti, placed a hand on her shoulder. "I… I mean Knight Shan, it's good to see you again."

"You as well, Tedra, though I see you still have to work on tempering your emotions."

She scoffed. "Look who's talking," she muttered, though with a small smile. One shared by Shaak Ti. "We've all heard about your actions rushing into the fray on Naboo."

"Yes, that choice, and the allies you brought, caused quite a stir among certain elements of the Order," Shaak Ti added in a friendly, unchallenging tone. "Though given the hurried nature of the need for support, and the Council determining the matter wasn't one to concern the Order, I cannot fault your choices. Nor their effectiveness."

"Thank you, Master," I said, dropping my head slightly to accept the praise. Shaak Ti might've been a dedicated Jedi, but she did favour unconventional methods. Something I'd experienced firsthand during my brief time working and training with her. Dooku had even commented that, if not for her peculiar desire to insult the Form with the erratic add-on of Ataru, he would consider her one of the foremost practitioners of Makashi in the Order.

"While we are both pleased you survived those battles relatively unharmed, I can sense something has changed within you. Beyond the wound you suffered."

I grinned at Shaak Ti's way of getting to the heart of the matter without directly doing so. "My injury is one I gladly paid to ensure people would remain free, and I have already procured a replacement," I replied, lifting my artificial hand into sight. "However," I continued, not letting the matter dwell on that, or where it came from, "you are correct in that I'd changed. Thanks to events in that battle, I have seen how to overcome my shortcomings."

I stayed vague as I wasn't sure if she knew about my battle with Maul, though I was certain Tedra wouldn't have spoken of it. Serra might know that Maul was there and believed that I'd killed him, but the Council had instructed us to not speak on the matter with anyone. Of course, that ruling didn't cover others, and through Padmé, and his position as Chancellor, Palpatine had become aware. At least in the official cover story. No doubt the hidden Banite Sith would think that would grant him another 'in' for turning me toward the Sith.

There was also a good chance Shaak reported what I said, and what she sensed to the Council. However, second-hand words, even from a trusted Jedi Master, were less concerning to me than having the head of the Council know directly how I'd changed.

"I don't think I'm even close to the middle of this journey, to say nothing of the end, but I feel I've taken the first steps toward overcoming my flaws," I added, making clear I wasn't arrogant enough to think I'd instantly reached the level many felt I could achieve.

Shaak's smile grew. "I'm pleased to hear that. Your technical skill is second to none, but as you're well aware, you lack faith in yourself and the Force to truly master your abilities. Perhaps when next we meet, if you've moved further down this path you now find yourself on, you might provide more of a challenge."

"I accept the offer, Master, and hope I'm able to be a worthy opponent." I'd already wondered how I could use my new limb against a Force user. I didn't think it would enable me to defeat a Jedi of Shaak's skill, never mind one who sat on the Council, but I felt it had the potential to offer me chances against others. The offer of a spar was a good one, and a challenge I looked forward to. "However, as much as I look forward to that spar, it wasn't why I contacted you and Tedra." I paused, taking a moment to consider my words. "I had hoped to speak with Padawan Keto. I haven't seen her since Naboo, and I'm concerned about how she's recovering from the death of Master Drallig."

"And with Master Windu limiting her contact with others, you weren't able to, and thus turned to common friends in the hope of receiving an update?" Shaak responded. I nodded, taking in the information that the ban on contact wasn't aimed at just those outside the Temple, and thus, in my mind, directly toward me. "Then I shall enquire with Master Windu as to her status and forward a report to you if able."

"Thank you."

"Since I am otherwise unoccupied, I shall handle it now, though I believe my Padawan would enjoy speaking with you while I make my inquiries." I nodded in thanks as Shaak turned to Tedra. "I will, however, remind you that you have a class with Master Gaant in thirty minutes regarding philosophy. I hope you won't be late for it again."

"Yes, Master," Tedra replied a little sheepishly. I remembered Master Gaant's classes, though I wished I didn't. Those had been extremely dull and boring sessions, even if, in theory, the topic matter might stimulate young minds. Or at least the minds of those indoctrinated in the Jedi beliefs and still happy guzzlers of the Kool-Aid.

"Until we next meet, may the Force be with you, Cameron."

"And with you, Master."

Shaak nodded and left the range of the receiver that she and Tedra were using. While I wanted to ask Tedra about Serra, and a few other matters that might be going on at the Temple, I felt it wiser to leave those for a little while, simply to ensure Shaak had left. "So, how's your training going?"

… …

… …
After deactivating my mother's holocron, I leaned back and sighed as I looked at the now-inert object. I'd spent the last week studying and interacting with it in the hopes it might offer me some form of insight into training with the Force. However, apart from a few minor hints – most of which I'd already deduced – I'd gotten nowhere in that regard. This holocron, unlike the vast majority of those I'd interacted with before, wasn't set up to be a study aid or research tool, but more of a personal log of Ressa Shan's life.

While the holocron hadn't helped me in the ways I'd wanted, learning of my mother's life had been illuminating. Getting some gaps regarding how the Jedi Order, the Republic, and the wider galaxy were set up and behaving thousands of years ago, barely a century after the Jedi Civil War, had been fascinating. However, it wasn't what I'd wanted to learn from the holocron.

I raised my hand, lifting the holocron gently with the Force. Of all my powers, Telekinesis came back easiest, which made sense as it was the most commonly used external power and one of the most versatile. Everything from lifting and moving an object to powers like Wave and Crush derived from Telekinesis. While I was far from getting the power back to where it'd been before, the fact I could – thanks to the intense lessons I'd endured with Dooku regarding fine control and focus – still use it for such menial tasks was a relief.

The holocron floated back to the small alcove in my cabin where I kept it stored. Once there, another small use of the Force had the alcove's front seal close, hiding the holocron behind a section of Raven's skin that ensured none who entered the room could see the alcove.

With that done, I leaned back on my bed and looked at the ceiling. It'd been a few days since the dinner with Raith Sienar had taken place, and we were now travelling aboard the Pride of Tion to a private research facility he controlled. There, according to Raith, the best engineers and researchers in the galaxy would examine Raven, without hurting her, to see what, if anything, could be done to improve and enhance her. My focus was on defensive and offensive capabilities, but I'd consider any suggestion that made her better than she already was.

We'd not left right after meeting Raith, as he'd had business to attend to in the Kuat system, but we were underway now. Plus, since the location where we were heading was a secured one, with restricted hyperspace access, Raith had offered to allow us to travel aboard his cruiser to the system. Raven disliked not being able to experience the wonders of hyperspace against her skin, nor did I as I missed being at the controls as we danced between the stars, but Anakin was happy with the change. The boy was currently off somewhere, looking over files of starship and droid design that Raith had provided to him.

The morning after that first dinner, I'd kept my word and taken Raith out for a short flight aboard Raven around the Kuat system. To say he'd been enthralled by the wonder that was Raven would be like saying a star brought light to a planet; accurate but vastly understating the importance and majesty of the event. Raith had bombarded me with questions about Raven, but I could only explain them through my connection with Raven, not in the technical way that he wanted.

Anakin had managed to answer some of the questions, but for every question that we answered, a dozen remained open. I'd been surprised at how well Anakin knew Raven's mechanical systems and learnt after that flight that he'd spent time studying her. That, given his proclivities toward technology, wasn't unexpected and I'd told him he was free to keep doing so, as long as he didn't try and take any of the components apart without first clearing it with me and Raven.

Anakin's ability to answer Raith's questions had been what led to the man developing a curiosity about Anakin, and why my Padawan was currently elsewhere studying datafiles provided by the head of SST. If I didn't know better and hadn't used Observe to confirm it, I'd fear Raith was trying to poach Anakin. He wasn't, but he saw the spark in the boy that he had, and wanted to help nurture it. So much so that the files Anakin was browsing contained proprietary technology of SST. R2 was with Anakin, helping the boy examine the files, and unless I missed my guess, suggest improvements to the designs he was examining.

That, I felt, was Raith's intention with giving the boy those files, though I'd have to see how it all played out in the coming weeks. However, it was helping Anakin improve a skill that I knew I couldn't help with, and the better trained he was – as Force use, warrior, and technician – the safer he'd be from falling into the clutches of the Banite Sith.

Fenrir was, as normal, resting and since Anakin and I were occupied, he'd taken over – again – the main sofa in the central area. Simvyl was in his quarters resting while HK had withdrawn to a private chamber. The assassin droid had enjoyed boasting of his prowess and history to Raith, at least until the man had wanted to examine HK more carefully. Since then, thanks to not wanting anyone outside my group, or his Creator, to do so, HK had kept his distance from Raith; mainly as a way to ensure he didn't choose to end the man's life.

Raith, thankfully, hadn't been upset by HK's comments, or gruff manner, and with him busy with other business most days, hadn't followed up his interest in HK. I was sure he'd had the droid scanned, but given the various jamming and distortion components in HK's frame, the internal workings of the droid would remain a mystery to Raith, along with knowledge of what HK carried in the way of hidden ordinance. Which was exactly how it should be for an assassin droid.

While it was taking longer than I'd like to reach our destination, with Anakin busy, it allowed me time to shift my focus to the various holocrons I had. So far I was finding little use for them, with my mother's holocron being the latest example of that. Sighing again, I opened my Inventory and pulled one of the various sacks stored there. It was a cheat to be able to place sacks into the slots with the sacks containing different, un-stackable objects, but it was one I was going to keep exploiting as it hadn't been removed in the last Interface update.

Placing the sack on a table, I pulled out the six holocrons that were inside it. Five of them I'd already used to see what I could do to enhance my re-learning of the Force. Four of those had been Jedi ones taken from underneath the Temple during the Cleansing the Temple quest that I'd completed years ago with Fay and Dooku. The last was one of the first holocron I'd ever gotten, having come from the Sith Apprentice I'd killed to escape my grandfather's house back, technically, nearly three thousand eight-hundred years ago.

None had offered any help in my learning, nor hinted at powers I'd not considered before the Interface had removed itself from interfering with my connection to the Force. Indeed, apart from their potential value as holocrons, and a continual curiosity as to how such things were built, they served no purpose. That logic couldn't be applied to the last holocron, and the one I was, reluctantly, going to use now.

This was King Adas' holocron, and while it looked similar to the Sith training holocron, it was something else entirely. It radiated power in a way that only the Great Holocron at the Jedi Temple could match, and even then, I'd say this holocron was older and more powerful.

The moment I took the sack out of my Inventory, I'd started hearing the whispered promises of power that the holocron wished to tempt me with. Those whispers grew into voices as I lifted the holocron with the Force, separating it from the other holocrons. The promises of answers to whatever I wanted to know were strong enough that I had to lean back once the holocron was separated from the others and collect my thoughts. The voices had always been strong, but without the Interface, I'd lost any protection it had offered against the worst elements of the Dark Side.

I took a few moments to re-centre myself, pushing aside the veiled promises of domination that the Dark Side offered. I knew this was a dangerous choice, but I needed to regain as much of my training and connection as quickly as possible. At the same time, as I focused on Adas' holocron, I understood fully just how little I truly knew of the Force, both Light and Dark and how great the protection the Interface had offered me had been. I shivered, wondering how long I'd have lasted with the Bando Gora if not for the Interface, or if I'd have made it through the war with the Vong without falling completely.

I gasped as, even with my connection limited by choice, the Force pushed images into my mind. Scenes similar to those I'd experienced in the crystal cave of Ilum rushed into my thoughts. Of seeing everyone I cared for kneeling, accepting me as their leader and master. Skulls of fallen opponents – Yoda, Windu, Sidious, Plagueis, and others – lined walls in an elaborate room as I moved toward the throne, my warriors, slaves, and concubines saluting or kneeling as I stepped toward my rightful place. I was Master of the g…

Shaking my head, I pushed the images aside, and reached inward, searching for my inner strength to settle my thoughts and guard my mind against the ravages of the Dark Side. I wasn't a conqueror or emperor. I would never be.

Once I felt calmer, the images and voices pushed back as far as I could get them, I opened my eyes and looked at Adas' holocron again. Those visions of a possible future hadn't come from it but from the swirling maelstrom of the Dark Side that radiated around it.

Reaching out with my mechanical hand, I grasped the holocron, shivering as I felt the faint tremors of the Dark Side. If I had used my organic hand, I knew I'd have either dropped the holocron, or been lost to its temptations, but the machinery and metal of the false limb offered me protection as it diluted the physical connection to the holocron.

Closing my eyes again, I reached out as carefully as I could. Pushing past the whispers and temptations that surrounded the holocron, I felt its presence in the Force. Finding it, I brushed against that and then opened my eyes, being greeted by the holographic armoured form of King Adas.

"I…" he stopped after just a word and I could tell, even with the armour hiding his visage, that he was examining me carefully. Physically and through the Force. "What has happened?"

"That easy to sense?" I replied with a chuckle as I slowly lowered the holocron onto a shelf, setting us on an equal eye line.

"For one as attuned to the intricate flows of the Force as I, sensing slight variances in the Force from lightyears away is child's play. Whatever has happened to so drastically alter the ripples you leave within the Force is something the most unskilled child could feel."

I chuckled again, remembering how Anakin had reacted to my awakening after taking Natural Selection. "In simple terms, I overcame the block that was restricting my connection to the Force. However, it came with the unexpected side effect of costing me almost all of my control."

Adas scoffed. "Saying you overcame your block is akin to suggesting the Force is a simple power source. When we began our initial lessons, I sensed the power you held was restricted; trapped in some way. Whatever was causing it was trapping the potential I knew you contained. Now that restriction is entirely gone and for the first time I find myself looking upon your true form, and indeed marvelling at what I now behold. Whereas before I could sense you as if looking at some massive, but distant galaxy, I now find myself standing within a font of power and marvelling at what I can witness. There is conflict in this galaxy, in you, and you are struggling to find yourself and bring order and structure to the chaos around you."

I blinked, wondering if he was talking about me or the galaxy we were in as his metaphor converted both. "That's… a remarkably intuitive way of describing it, though not how I'd ever expected someone to describe me."

"I'm not talking of you, child, but of your potential. Of the power that, if you choose to seize and bend it to your will, you could wield." I kept my face as passive as I could as he spoke, wondering what his true end goal was. I knew he hoped to turn me into a worthy apprentice and successor, but it felt as if there was more to his intent than simply that. However, that, like what dark secrets I could potentially learn from him, was a matter for another day, once I had control over myself, the Force, and our bond.

"Still, it is an interesting comparison, and one I won't deny is tempting. However, it isn't why I wished to speak with you today."

"Then what do you wish to discuss then?"

"I need help to focus, limit, and control the power that runs through me and into the Force." My wording was intentional as saying anything along the lines of what a Jedi Master would expect would only serve to insult him.

"Is that what you desire? Or do you seek the means to hide the power that resides, and the capability for even greater supremacy, within you? Do you not seek to mask your presence so that, to others, you appear as nothing more than a deluded follower of the Jedi's false scripture?"

"Aye," I said with a chuckle, amused at his way of describing the Jedi, "that too, I guess." It was annoying that he could so easily see through my words to the truth of my motives, but with my Force abilities all having gone haywire, it wasn't unexpected. Haran, my mother's holocron had sensed something was amiss, but it lacked the hint of sentience that Adas' holocron seemed to possess.

Normally Adas would mix his words, trying to hide his intentions in the spaces between the letters. Thankfully, as with Palpatine and Damask, I was aware of this, and on the lookout for such deception and twisted motives. That he wasn't attempting that today hinted that he knew there was no need to, and that he understood how desperate I was becoming if I would turn to a Sith King for guidance.

"Then, perhaps, I can be of some assistance. However, before we can focus on helping you regain control of your connection to the Force, you must learn to use the Force to empower and enrich you. The need to mould it, craft it, to your purposes and desires will help make it difficult, if not nigh-on impossible, for any to sense your intentions, opinions, and relationship with the Force." He paused and clasped his hands behind his back, reminding me of a drill instructor about to lecture a group of raw recruits. "In simple terms, the Jedi feel that emotions should not be used in conjunction with the Force. That any of them leads one to twist the Force to their will. While the general concept is valid, they fail to understand the truth of the Force. Any emotion grants one a boost, it is simply that the darker, baser emotions offer faster and easier paths to power. The flaw of the Jedi, and many so-called Sith Lords, is to think that only those baser emotions grant power. That they should be all that is focused on, or that all should be ignored because of our more instinctual choices."

It didn't take a mastermind to know what Adas was hinting at, or where he wanted this lesson to go. I wouldn't deny that using my rage, my fury to empower me did offer a quick, almost insane, boost to what I was capable of, but I understood they were fleeting and deceiving. However, I also understood that, if I had to draw upon my emotions to create the shell that would stop others from sensing the taint within me, of how I was neither a Jedi nor a Sith – nor had any intention of following those paths to their conclusions – then I had to take this lesson.

"I'm willing to listen," I said slowly, measuring my tone and keeping as unemotional as possible. "However, I need you to explain, in detail, how learning to harness my emotions, regardless of which ones, will help shield me from the senses of others. How it might protect me and those I care for from reprisals."

Adas chuckled, the deep, baritone sound echoing around my quarters. "But of course. One cannot begin a journey without understanding why they must take it. That leads to mistakes that place them and others in danger they will likely be unprepared for. However, the explanation for why this needs to be done will take considerable time."

"That is something I have," I replied, drawing another deep chuckle from the ancient Sith King.

"Then let us begin."

… …

… …
I watched silently, letting the engineers and researchers of Sienar Design Systems, or at least this particular group of them, wander around Raven. They had various devices to scan and correlate readings with them, but so far they'd not made any attempt to slice off a section of her hull. That had happened with the first team Raith had assigned, and after barely restraining myself from introducing all of them to the business end of my beskad, and then having to calm down Fenrir, Raith had arrived.

After learning what'd transpired, he'd reassigned that team to another project elsewhere on the planet and fired the team leader. Raith had left orders that Raven was not to be harmed, or taken apart without my express permission, and that fucking hut'uun had ignored the order. Upon hearing about the incident, HK had suggested that he speak with this team leader and educate them on why a chain of command exists. I'd been tempted to allow it but decided against the idea in the end as it was Raith's problem to handle. That was why whenever a team was examining Raven, one of myself, Simvyl, or HK was present.

A gentle growl had me lower my hand. "I know," I said as I petted Fenrir's head as the current team moved around Raven. This was the third team today, and fourteenth since the incident, to examine Raven, and there'd not been another issue since.

Now, there had been a few complaints, but those had been because of HK. After the incident with the first team, the droid had been vocal and descriptive in explaining what would happen to the first dumb meatbag to touch Raven without my consent. However, Raith had laughed those off, finding it amusing the way HK spoke; at least when the comments weren't aimed at him. Force, he'd even said he might have a few experimental components that could be fitted to my droids. While I wasn't holding out hope that he'd be willing to part with those, HK was curious about the options, as was R2.

The current team gathered near Raven's cockpit, conversing about the various readings they'd taken, and I began to wonder if they'd finally found a method to enhance her. I understood that in a week it was unlikely they'd have definitive leads, but I was growing irritated at the lack of progress, or at least the lack of information given to me about the project. While there weren't, as far as I knew, any critical events to handle in the next few months – bar, perhaps the quest linked to Sifo-Dyas, though I was unsure how that would play out now Dooku wasn't in line to become Darth Tyrannus – I'd like to begin training Anakin, and retraining myself, with the various Force sects and other groups I wanted to visit.

The one upside of the downtime here was that it allowed me to focus heavily on Anakin's lightsaber skills. I retained all my training there, and not being able to draw efficiently on the Force meant the few times we'd sparred, I'd not had to explain away why I was moving so slow.

Anakin had pestered me slightly about when he'd be building his lightsaber, but I'd explained that I'd only allow that once I felt he was ready. For now, he used a training saber I'd created from the spare parts in my Inventory while I retained my shoto. The blade wasn't ideal for how I fought, but it would do until I fully rebuilt my lightsaber.

With one of the crystals that had given the blade its unique colour cracked, I had to determine how to either fix it or failing that, discover another crystal to use. I could, in theory, use the Mantle of the Force as my main crystal, but that choice resonated wrongly in the force.

Right now, Anakin wouldn't be in Raven or elsewhere training with a lightsaber, but should, provided he'd not grown bored and taken R2 and Simvyl for a wander around the base, be involved in some form of mental training focused on starship and droid design. The boy had a gift for that, and Raith – after none-too-subtly testing Anakin on the voyage here – had arranged for him to take remote classes with an advanced design group SST had for gifted youngsters.

Raith had assured me that he had no intention of trying to steal Anakin away from the Jedi – which had made me laugh as Anakin wouldn't care too much about the Order, only about being separated from me and our odd family – but claimed Anakin reminded him of himself as a youth. The discussions the pair had held had, as expected, gone so far over my head that I couldn't even see them from where I stood, relatively speaking, at the bottom of the mountain they were scaling, but the pair had formed a bond. So much so that Anakin's classroom was a converted office where he had free reign.

I'd entered the room a few times and found it a complete mess. Datapads were strewn everywhere, open on schematics that I struggled to make heads or tails of without reference, and Anakin had always had his head buried in whatever one had his current attention. The only way he realised I was there was when Fenrir pushed up against him for attention. I didn't have any issue with Anakin getting lost in his work or passion, nor him having odd hours for some classes or discussions as I understood that Raith and those tutoring Anakin were fitting in the sessions around their work, and was glad he was getting pushed in ways I knew would help him, but that I could never manage.

Footsteps coming from behind had me turning, and I saw Rath approaching, a datapad in his hands. "Behave," I said to Fenrir as I left him to go and meet our host. "Something the matter?" I asked, seeing the slightly worried expression he wore, which only grew greater when he glanced at Raven.

"Yes, though it's about what I expected after the first few flights about Raven, and I could examine her inner workings," he replied as he neared, and then held out the datapad for me to take. "The engineering teams are reporting that there's not much they can do regarding adding weaponry to Raven. At least not without having to cut into her hull and hurt her in the process."

As he'd explained that, I'd browsed the datapad. Much of it used terms beyond me, but it stated the same general thing as what Raith had said. "Aye, from what I can follow, this matches what the engineers at Mandalmotors told me." I handed the pad back. "It was why your name was high on the list Dred Yomaget gave me for finding a second opinion."

"Yes," Raith began as he took back the pad. "Dred isn't an engineer like me, but he knows who the best in the business are and doesn't let ego or politics get in the way of making a deal." He smirked slightly as he continued. "I'm sure the other names on that list were highly respected and sought-after engineers and designers?" I nodded, though I wasn't going to mention the other names, and Raith had accepted that after prodding me a few times about it and not getting a response. That said, he had guessed the companies that many of those on the list worked for, so he probably knew most, if not all, of the names on the list. "I suspect that most would give you the same report I and Dred have. The only ones who wouldn't, would be those uncaring about cutting up something as unique and special as Raven."

"Any idea who might be of help?"

"I'd say several of those with an interest in bioengineering. Adasca comes to mind along with a few others. The internal arrangement of much of the circuitry is hardwired into Raven's body in a way a normal engineer isn't trained to understand."

"I take it you don't have such workers on staff?"

"At SDS? No. Some subdivisions do work in the required fields, but it isn't an area SST focuses on. Nor have I given the subject much thought, at least until I met and then flew aboard Raven." He glanced past me again, taking in the organic wonder. "Though if you give me a few years, I might have something that could work."

I chuckled at his enthusiasm and knew Raven was going to be a pet project of his for some time. "Sadly, I don't think we could encroach on your hospitality for that long."

"Oh, I wouldn't mind. Having a Jedi on-call to handle issues could be very advantageous for business," he replied with laughter. "And something to hold over other CEOs during meetings."

"Aye, I'm sure it would," I replied as I laughed along with him, "however, the Force wouldn't allow me to remain stationary for that long, nor do I think I could stand not doing anything." I extended a hand. "Still, I'm thankful for you taking the time to examine her, and for helping Anakin with his interests."

Raith waved away my hand. "Oh, just because I can't add the weaponry you'd hoped for, at least not without hurting her, doesn't mean I'm letting you leave without some improvements." My head tilted slightly to the right, curious as to what he was thinking. "Weaponry is still doable, but it would require external hardpoints mounted on the few sections of her hull which aren't organic. Missiles or automated turrets for example. However, it's the internal circuity, at least what isn't fused with her workings, where I can offer improvements. I might even have a few special projects that would be viable for a ship such as Raven. Ones that might help counter her inability to have your desired firepower."

My brow rose as he spoke, wondering what he had in mind. The only example I could think of was the Scimitar's cloak, and I had considered removing it from the Sith vessel before I'd stored it on Dagobah. In the end though, I'd rejected the idea. Not only would there likely be various traps and countermeasures to prevent the component's removal, but there was a chance the programming contained malicious coding that could infect Raven. Still, the idea of being able to come and go with sensors and eyeballs unable to easily track me was tempting as fuck.

"What exactly are yo…"

"CAM!"

The shouting of my name by Anakin cut me off mid-sentence, and I turned to see my Padawan rushing toward me. I didn't need the Force to know he was excited, and the pad that he was waving in one hand reinforced that appearance. "Cam!"

"Yes, Anakin?" I asked in a more dignified manner as he raced closer. There was a bit of irritation at his interruption, but I knew I'd speak with Raith after Anakin was settled about what he had in mind. For now, my Padawan, the reason for his excitement, and his lack of manners were where my focus lay. "What required you to rush here in such a manner?"

Raith coughed, no doubt to hide a chuckle at the subtle telling-off I gave the boy, even as Anakin slowed down. His eyes widened as he saw Raith and I had been talking. "Oh, um…" his words were cut off as Fenrir raced toward him. "Fenrir!" He called out, trying desperately to avoid the tuk'ata's attempts to lick his face.

I smirked, enjoying Fenrir unintentionally turning the tables on Anakin by interrupting him, but stayed silent. I wanted to see if Anakin would resume what I assumed was an apology, or if he'd blow right past it, and thus require more lessons on manners.

Eventually, Fenrir decided he'd greeted Anakin enough, and leaned back, wandering calmly to my side. The boy wiped his face. "Gross," he muttered as some of the tuk'ata's drool stuck to his robes before he then shook the arm; sending what wasn't soaked into the material flying. "Sorry," He said as he saw Raith take a step back to avoid being splattered. "And sorry for shouting."

"While it's good that you understand your mistake, I hope in future it isn't repeated." My voice, as much as I hadn't planned it, had dropped deeper, mimicking one of my former Masters. I chuckled at the image that was created in my head before returning my attention to my ad. "Now, what made you rush here from your office?" I asked, glancing at Raith. "Has our host offered you a contract that you've decided to take, thus leaving me and the Order?"

"No! Never!" Anakin shouted enthusiastically, While Raith and Fenrir winced at his volume and tone, I laughed.

"I was teasing," I said quickly, holding up a hand as an apology. It's only been a few months since Shmi's death, and while he was recovering, it seemed even hinting at his family changing again was a step too far for him. Still, the strength of conviction I felt in the Force when he spoke was an encouraging sign that his loyalty was to me; meaning the threat of him becoming Darth Vader was decreasing.

"Ah, um, sorry."

"The pad?" Raith prodded, returning the conversation to its original track.

"Oh, right." Anakin pushed the pad he'd been holding toward forward, displaying the screen.

It appeared to be a letter from his tutor; or one of them at any rate. While several of the terms used sounded unnecessarily wordy, and other sections made little sense to me, the gist was easy to determine. "Impressive," I said, impressed with his performance.

"Indeed," Raith agreed as he reached for the pad. "It seems," he continued as he browsed more from the tutor, "that your professor feels you should attempt to implement some of your ideas." He looked up from the pad, offering Anakin a wide smile. "I'll have a workbench brought to your office, along with the relevant equipment."

"Wizard!"

Raith laughed as he handed the pad back, before glancing at me. "Perhaps, if your Master will allow it, I might also bring some of the ideas I have for Raven to you. It would reassure me that at least one of you understands the systems I hope to install in your magnificent vessel."

Anakin's eyes widened almost comically, and I chuckled at the hopeful look he gave me. "It's fine. While I understand Raven as a being, I'm happy to leave the mechanical side of her under Anakin's observation."

"Woo-hoo!" Anakin shouted, punching the air in delight. Fenrir howled at that, drawing the attention of many in the bay; several of whom took a step or two back at the reminder the massive beast was present. "Whoops. Sorry," Anakin added sheepishly once Fenrir had stopped howling in support.

"There's nothing wrong with being excited," I said as I moved closer to him, "just try and remember where you are, and who else is present, hmm?" As I finished, I ruffled his hair. He frowned, disliking the gesture, but that only had me smiling more. It was nice to be on the other side of the gesture having had to endure it for several years from Fay.

My mind shifted, wondering how my former Master was doing. She'd left about half a year ago with Satele Shan's holocron in the hopes of rediscovering Tython. I'd not heard anything from her since the message she'd left informing me of her departure, but given I'd not felt a shift in the Force, I knew she was still alive and searching for the ancient, and multiple-times lost planet.

I wasn't sure how things would change if she rediscovered the birthplace of the Jedi – and the homeworld of the precursor group the Je'daii – but I had little doubt it would alter much of what the Sith planned. Which was why, I hoped, she'd kept her attempt hidden from everyone on the Council, and why her message had made no mention of the voyage, nor had I mentioned the location when speaking with Dooku and others who might be aware of her intentions.

"Um," Anakin's voice drew my thoughts back to the present, "can I go back to my room?"

"Of course," I replied, giving his hair a final ruffle. "Though take Fenrir for a walk first. He needs to stretch his legs and I'd rather not take him near the weapon testing section of this facility." That was where HK and Simvyl were, and I knew the droid was enjoying – not that he'd ever admit to it – the chance to examine and test experimental weapons. Haran, I suspected that if any met his approval, he'd push me to see if we could take it with us, and failing that, might attempt to access and download the schematics.

"Okay. Come on Fenrir." The tuk'ata looked my way for confirmation, and after a nod, headed off with my son. I shook my head, struggling still to process that I'd adopted Anakin fucking Skywalker, but it was what we, and the Force, wanted.

Seeing him walk beside the massive Sith war beast that towered over him – not that either acted like Fenrir was a born killer – I wondered what the future was going to hold for all of us. I didn't know what dangers awaited us in the galaxy, or what threats, bar the ones I had been preparing for since arriving in this universe, lay in wait, but I felt that Anakin and I – along with our allies – would face it side-by-side. He was a focal point, a being placed here to determine the fate of the galaxy. I was an interloper, though one the Force had adapted to, and I felt now considered almost as important as Anakin to setting the direction of the galaxy's near to medium-term future.

There would be challenges ahead for us, but I knew that, so long as I had the time to implement the training I had planned for all of us, then we'd be capable of facing them.

"Now," I said as I turned to Raith and pushed thoughts of the future aside," what are the options you were about to mention before Anakin's unexpected arrival?"

… …

… …
I watched from the back of the converted cargo hold, leaning against the wall as Anakin trained. Most days, that training consisted of either going through velocities of the early forms, as I wanted to ensure he had the basics down of practising deflecting blaster bolts. Once we left this system – which amusingly was called the Orion System – and moved forward with our training, I knew we were at greater risk of being attacked by pirates and the like than running into other Force users, so getting Anakin able to at least deflect blaster bolts, if not redirect them back at attackers, was the main focus of his current training.

What I was lacking for that training was the small floating droids to train with, however I'd found an easy adaption. HK was more than happy to shoot at Anakin, seeing the benefit in training the boy and protecting the investment in one he now considered worthy of helping him improve. However, he was just one droid, and even dual-wielding and using some of his additional features, the angles he could shoot from where easy enough to predict and adapt to. That was why, as of this session, R2 was using a blaster.

Now, it wasn't something permanent, being held by one of the small arms that extended from the astromech body, but the fact R2 didn't have a good grip on the blaster – and was a frankly horrible shot – meant it was forcing Anakin to pay attention to each bolt. If it travelled at him, then he had to deflect or avoid it, if not, he could ignore it, and all that had to happen almost instantly given bolts, as low-powered as they were, moved at considerable velocity.

So far, though it was just the first session with multiple shooters, Anakin was doing well, and I could sense his enjoyment of the training. He was relying purely on Soresu for defence, and while that was working, I could see the subtle hints that he wanted to strike back; that being so passive and reactionary didn't feel right for him. That, in many ways, was a relief, as while the Anakin in the other timeline had based his style on Djem So, I hadn't been certain my Anakin would.

As it seemed he preferred the more reactive role in combat, I knew it wouldn't be long until I began showing him some velocities of the two Form V variants. While Shien enabled one to use the incoming bolts to counterattack, it sacrificed some of the defensive certainty of Soresu, which for some Jedi could be an issue. It wasn't for me, even if my style was based around Makashi, I disliked being on the defensive throughout a battle, nor it seemed, would my ad'ika.

I smirked and shook my head, still coming to terms with the fact Anakin was now my son. Oh, the Jedi and Republic might have issues with it, but by Mandalorian law, he was my son and heir, and others would just have to accept that.

Anakin stepped forward, pushing one of HK's bolts away – and I had to lean to one side to avoid it scraping me – and I felt the hints of frustration within the boy. His desire to strike back, to do something, easy to read in his posture and within the Force. While that was understandable, and not unlike myself at his age, I knew he needed to temper that feeling. At least until he had a solid base in the Form V variants. Anakin had incredible potential, more so than even me, but he was young, rash, and overeager.

I understood that, when I'd been a Padawan, I'd been similar, but I'd managed – most of the time – to temper the excitement of early youth. Or at least, once a little older, find other outlets for my energy. Scratching my chin, even as HK forced Anakin back by increasing his rate of fire, my thoughts turned to those I was closest to but weren't currently travelling with me.

Serra was the first to come to mind, and I wondered how her training was going with Windu. That she'd been placed in isolation after the death of Drallig, in an attempt to help her recover from the emotional backlash of her Master's death, made sense. At least from a Jedi's perspective. However, Windu restricting her access to everyone within the Order until he was satisfied with her recovery was unsettling. I didn't think Windu planned to turn her against me, but I felt he and the rest of the High Council were concerned by how close we'd become; so much so that she'd snuck out of the Temple – with help from Bo-Katan and Satine – and come to Naboo. A choice that had cost the Jedi their Battlemaster, though Master Koth had already filled the position.

Bo-Katan And Naz should both be back on Mandalore, no doubt finding ways to get into trouble. I was uncertain where things were heading with them, or when I'd next meet them, but I suspected it wouldn't be a massive amount of time until one or both reappeared.

After that, my thoughts turned to Padme, and I wondered how she was doing leading Naboo's rebuilding. The last I'd spoken to her the Naboo people had begun work on stripping and selling the parts of the Lucrehulk that had been left in orbit; ignoring the wishes of the Trade Federation to cease such actions as much of the technology on the vessel was their proprietary property. The Senate, as slow-moving and filled with lackeys of the Federation as it was, wasn't giving that idea much voice as the Co-Chancellors ensured the Federation remained under an apparently close microscope, while the courts were unwilling to accept the Federation's attempts at injunctions. What probably didn't help there was that the two other Lucrehulks had vanished from public sight. One was known to have been taken by the Mandalorians, and they weren't telling anyone where it was held, while the Lokella's system was isolated and off the grid enough that only those in the know knew its location, and thus ensured the Lucrehulk they'd taken was far from sight.

Thinking of a Queen turned my thoughts to a Princess, and I remembered Miraj. The Zygerrian heir was, the last time I'd spoken to her, doing well. it seemed her interest in me had grown after news of the Battle of Naboo, and my role in leading the planet's liberation had reached the Holonet. Given the Zygerrians were a proud race – their beliefs in slavery notwithstanding – who respected power and dominance, that wasn't a surprise. It was, however, another way to slowly change the thinking of the princess, and potentially ensure that whenever galactic war erupted her people, and their small empire, sided with whichever group I fought for.

A grunt from Anakin brought my attention back to the training area, and I saw that Anakin had stumbled back. He was shaking one of his legs even as he moved, using the training lightsaber I'd constructed for him, to deflect one of R2's semi-wild bolts away.

"Enough!" I called out, figuring Anakin taking another bolt, the fifth in five minutes, was a good place to end the session. He'd been training for over two hours, and it was clear he was starting to struggle.

The droids lowered their blasters, though Anakin remained in a ready stance for a short while longer. That made me smile, as it meant the lesson about not lowering his guard too early, or trusting an opponent would stop when they'd said they would, was sinking in. I was sure the Jedi might consider my tactics and training in this as excessive, but given trust had to be earned and not just given, I'd rather have Anakin ready and able to defend himself than leave himself open to a trick. The Mandalorians, on the other hand, would see my training as smart and expected.

Anakin continued to watch HK as the droid moved away and only slipped from a ready stance once it was clear the assassin droid wasn't lulling him into a false sense of security. Even as he made his way to me, the lightsaber remained lit, ready to snap to work if needed. The one thing that did catch my attention was that he was only focusing on the obvious threat of HK, and not that of R2. Now, with the blaster barely held in a grasping limb, the astromech was unlikely to manage a shot that would trouble the boy, but Anakin's focusing only on one target, and not those that might be less obvious, was another flaw to correct. As was the fact R2 was currently, still nothing more than a standard astromech.

I had plans to acquire components and allow Anakin to install them into the droid, upgrading the astromech into a threat to anyone who dismissed him due to his size and shape. HK had already made several suggestions for alterations, and while getting a phrik-based outer casing for the astromech was the obvious choice, the other suggestions ranged from possible to downright insane.

"Why'd you make me stop?" Anakin asked once he was close to me, the training blade powering down. "I'm doing fine."

"So well, that HK has managed to strike you five times in five minutes," I replied with a smile, amused at his reaction. The more philosophical parts of learning about the Force, and even some of the standard techniques, held little interest to him. But point him at a machine, or give him a lightsaber and ask him to train, and he'd do so until he literally dropped from exhaustion. While I'd taught him the basics of using the Force to replenish and restore your body when pushed to your limits, I couldn't truly teach the lesson as the way I'd done it before Natural Selection wasn't normal, or natural. I was slowly fumbling my way into learning how to do so, but I knew I had a long way to go. It was why our first destination after leaving this system was to a Force sect specialising in using the Force in that way. "Perhaps it's time to shift your training toward less combat-oriented uses of the Force?" I suggested while tapping my chin.

"No!" Anakin snapped, reaching forward to grasp my arm. "I, um," he continued, worried he'd overstepped only for me to start laughing.

"Haran! It's too easy to tease you," I said, lowering the hand and ruffling his hair. "While one day we will have to turn your training toward non-combat or technical matters, I don't think we're there yet." Anakin was relieved to hear that. "However, I think that I'd been focusing too much on your training as a Force user, and not as a Mandalorian. Therefore, once we leave this system, outside of any training we do to learn with Force sects, I'm going to insist we begin your training there."

"But why?" He whined only to blink, seemingly surprised at his reaction. "I mean, I get that I'll be like you, a Mandalorian Jedi. But why can't I just use my lightsaber?"

"First, that's a training lightsaber and if you struck someone with it, the worst you could do is stun them." As I spoke I lifted my shoto blade from its clip at my side. "You aren't ready to build your lightsaber, just as I feel I'm not in a position to rebuild the one destroyed on Naboo." I wasn't sure how I was going to go about it, but I wanted to see if there was any way I could repair the damaged miniature crystal that had formed half of the focusing point of my blade and gave it the unusual dual-colour blade. If not, then I'd have to see where the Force guided me, what sort of crystal would replace the damaged one, and what changes that would bring to my lightsaber.

"Second, it's highly likely that, for the next year or so, we'll be travelling as Mandalorians and not Jedi. Because of that, and that many would consider a Mandalorian an easier target than a Jedi – with many hating either or both groups – I won't have you entering any location unarmed or untrained. Which is why, once we leave this system, I'd be shifting your training to something more akin to the Mando'ade."

I also had something ready for that training, but I'd yet to give it to him. I'd been planning to hold onto it for his birthday, but that was still several months away, and I knew we'd not be here for that long. Bo hadn't liked not being present when I gave Anakin what I had stored for him, and that I wasn't giving it to him instantly, but she'd accepted my judgement. I was his parent while she was the fun-loving – or battle-crazy depending on your opinion – aunt.

"Contemplative: I do hope, Master, that you would be willing to listen to some of my suggestions regarding the young builder's education."

"I'll be relying on you for help, HK, don't worry," I replied, smiling at the assassin droid. "Just make sure that whatever training you suggest has a good chance of not getting Anakin killed."

"Cautionary: No training, at least one worthy of being implemented, is without danger, Master. Addendum: However, I will consider how to ensure the young builder isn't permanently damaged or killed by what I offer, Master." R2 beeped out a question. "Answer: Yes, you may help, though I am unsure if your memory core is sufficiently advanced to compute anything useful." R2 rolled forward, the sounds coming from him more confrontational, which made me chuckle. "Correction: Obviously I meant your current configuration lacks the capacity, though I'm sure the Master will have you upgraded before we depart."

"I'm sure Anakin and Raith can think of ways to improve you, R2," I agreed, earning a nod from Anakin. "If you're both good, we'll see what, if anything, Raith is willing to sell to help improve you further."

"Appeasement: We shall be on our best behaviour, Master." R2 beeped and rocked in agreement. "The meatbag hosting us is remarkably creative. For a meatbag."

I laughed and shook my head at HK's opinion of Raith. Turning, I saw that Anakin looked paler than when I'd spoken with HK. "Hey," I said, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, "remember, whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

"Easy for you to say. You're not the one facing a crazy assassin droid."

"Correction: A highly skilled and capable assassin droid, young builder. Explanation: While your primitive mind is unable to comprehend my higher process, rest assured that I know, and have, hundreds of ways that would result in your death without any proof linking me to the action."

"Anyway," I cut in before Anakin could consider what HK was suggesting, "you're wrong to say I've not faced an assassin droid across from me in a training exercise. I've trained considerably with HK to keep my skills sharp. Though, at least when speaking of him as a sparring opponent, HK is lacking when compared to the Krayt Dragon."

"Observation: While I still find that event hard to compute, the amount of evidence to support your battle forces me to accept the obvious, Master." HK's head tilted to one side. "Musing: I am curious how you would do in such a situation now, or if I might have more suitable methods to engage such a beast than directly challenging it."

"Ignoring that I didn't intend to challenge the beast as I did, I think I'd do a lot better. For one, I'd have all of you, Fenrir, and Simvyl to help."

"Assessment: Perhaps a collection with too many parts to make the hunt fair, Master."

"As you well know, there's no such thing as a fair fight. There's only not enough firepower or not enough targets."

HK chuckled, which was always an odd sound to hear from a droid. "Amusement: That is the correct answer, Master. Appeasement: I look forward to when we might hunt a dragon, or similar such beast, together."

"As do I, HK. As do I." I turned and looked back at Anakin. "You need the training, Anakin. I won't let you step into the galaxy unprepared to defend yourself from those who want to hurt you. To hurt us."

"Okay," he said slowly, and he moved forward as if planning to resume his training.

"Wait." He turned back to me. "While you can resume sparring soon, there's something I'd like to explain before you do." I tapped at the interface in my beskar limb; a similar computer to that in a vambrace hidden inside the protective metal. "I need you to tell me what this is?" I said as the arm displayed a small hologram from the top of my wrist.

"That's a blaster," he replied, sounding as if I'd suddenly lost my sanity.

"It is, but what else can you tell me about it?" He frowned, confused by the question and I smirked. "Who made it? How much power does a clip have? How much does it cost unmodified? What's its rate of fire in the various modes?"

Anakin stepped closer, examining the hologram carefully. I did likewise as I'd pulled this blaster up quickly, not bothering to select it too carefully and thus making Anakin think I was somehow aware of what it was before it was displayed. "Looks like an EE model," he replied after about half a minute while giving me an annoyed shrug. "Why does this matter?"

"It matters because every blaster, even those in the same series, has different statistics," I explained slowly, not annoyed at his attitude. "This, for example, is an EE-2 blaster carbine. The power cell gives a base capacity of three hundred bolts, though this can drop to a hundred depending on the mode used. In standard configuration, it works either in burst fire of five bolts, or suppression fire of twenty bolts. The hundred bolt capacity comes into play when placed on single shot, as that generates a more powerful bolt but at the cost of a greatly reduced rate of fire." As I spoke, Anakin's brow rose, while I swore HK watched on in amusement. "The base model has a muzzle velocity of eighty-two kilometres per second, meaning at four hundred meters – which is a decent distance away – you've got around four thousand eight hundred eighty microseconds to recognize the blaster, remember all this information, and then prepare to engage who or whatever is wielding it."

By the time I finished that piece, Anakin looked shocked and impressed with what I'd said. Which, to him, it was. For me, with Eidetic Memory, it was as simple as remembering what I had for breakfast. I'd not learnt the details of every blaster in the galaxy – as that would be a pain to do and a general waste of time – but I had the details for the top five thousand for each type of blaster memorised, meaning it took me no time to be certain of the blaster the arm had displayed.

"Once you realise what blasters your enemies are wielding, and the specifics of their weaponry – such as how this carbine is best used on the burst-fire mode – then, with whatever time you have left, there are four things you, as someone who can draw on the Force, can do." First," I held up a finger, "you can move your body to avoid the bolts, or ensure your lightsaber is in a position to deflect them away. Second, if you know how to, you can redirect the bolts. Ideally, you send them back at the shooter, but if not then toward secondary targets or towards something that could alter a battlefield to your advantage. A steam pipe for example." Anakin nodded, taking in what I was saying. "This is where I expect you to be by the time you turn twelve." I expected him there earlier, but I didn't want to push him too hard, not when he currently had other focuses. "Third, and this is more advanced, as a Force user, you can draw upon the Force to protect yourself. This can be something like generating a barrier to shield yourself or altering the air to slow the bolt down enough to make one of the earlier options more applicable. It's even possible for the most powerful and skilled Force users to stop the bolt in its tracks."

"Observation: Throughout my operational lifetime I've seen a handful of Jedi and Sith use such a technique, Master. While it is an impressive display of power, they can usually be overcome with a sufficient number of bolts. Ideally fired by multiple shooters using differing blaster types."

"Or, to see why the third option is flawed, the fourth choice is to not be anywhere near the bolts when they're meant to reach you." Anakin opened his mouth, but I raised a hand to cut off whatever comment he had. "Yes, I know the last two require using the Force in ways you don't know, but they're also – depending on how the fourth option is taken – flashier than the first two, and a greater drain on the Force user. One day, you'll learn techniques to do those, but I can assure you that the first two are the most common, and practical, methods of dealing with blaster-wielding opponents."

"Okay." While Anakin's interest lay in using a lightsaber, it was obvious he was curious about the other methods. Probably ones like Phase and Teleport, and I'd show him how to use them, but only after I re-learnt how to do so myself. While I didn't have restrictions on those powers like Shatterpoint, I lacked any clear training for how the powers were meant to work. Until I understood the science and logic that went into them, I had no intention of attempting them again. The risk that something dire would happen if I wasn't sure of what I was doing outweighed my desire to have them back in my arsenal.

"Good, now back you go," I said, giving him a gentle push on the back. I watched as he moved back to the centre of the room, his eyes already tracking the droids, and the lightsaber igniting in his hands. "Oh HK," the droid stopped as I spoke to him, "increase your rate of fire by twenty per cent."

"Answer: With pleasure, Master," the droid replied as Anakin stared at me, not believing I'd told HK to make the training harder.

… …

… …
"It's heavier than I thought," Anakin muttered as he shifted around, adapting to his new gear. His head snapped toward me as he caught the sound of my mechanical arm doing something. "Wait!" He said, reaching out for my arm even as I took another image of him in the armour. "Stop it!" He whined, moving closer even as I began to backpedal.

"Now, now," I replied, taking another few pictures, "don't you want Bo and the others to see what you look like in your armour?"

"Stop it!" he half-cried, half-snarled, and made a face that caused me to start laughing. I stopped quickly though as I felt the shift in the Force, suggesting he was drawing on emotions I didn't want him to; at least until he had training in how to handle and channel them without losing control of himself to them and the Dark Side.

"Okay, okay," I said after another ten seconds and lowered my arm to make clear I was done capturing the moment in both picture and video format. "Now," I said, stepping closer to him, "how does it feel? Apart from being heavy."

Anakin stopped and looked at his armour. He lifted his arms and legs slowly in succession, and twisted this way and that, getting a feel for his new gear. The only sections of the armour not currently on were the gauntlets and the helmet. They rested on a table nearby, while Anakin wore every other section of the standard Mandalorian armour – vambraces included – making him appear every inch the young warrior.

What fed into that, and semi-bonded him to me, was that like me his armour used black as the base colour. He'd chosen black as he wanted justice for those enslaved across the galaxy, and then edges of red and grey to honour and remember his mother. The only major difference between his armour and mine was that while his vizor was darkened, mine was red. Otherwise, when standing side by side, I was sure people would assume we were family, which was true from a certain point of view.

Bo had asked him back on Mandalore when I'd gotten my replacement limb, what colours he'd wear if he had armour while carrying out a refresher course on the colours and their meaning. He'd taken time to consider the choices, and while I'd accepted all of them easily, I'd not placed any gold edging on his armour. That marked a desire for vengeance, and for a young Force user, such desires could easily lead to places they weren't ready to head.

I had no issue with his desire to seek vengeance for the death of his mother and had made clear several times that we would, when ready, move against Decca the Hutt. However, most of the times Decca had come up, I'd had to warn and remind Anakin of the dangers of becoming consumed by the need for vengeance. He'd accepted my words each time but always confirmed that when he was ready, he would move against Decca and other slavers.

There'd been conviction in his voice, and a certainty that shone brightly in the Force, whenever he made that vow. That was a sign that, while this Anakin wasn't like the one in the other timeline, he had the same core drives and wants. I'd have to keep an eye on that and ensure that he learnt to focus those urges safely and do my best to keep him as far from the sight of the Banite Sith as I could.

I knew I couldn't keep him hidden for a decade, until the outbreak of the Clone Wars, nor prevent him from experiencing the Dark Side, but the longer I could wait, the further I could get in his training, the better I felt things would go. The moment the Jedi and Sith knew of him, their interest would rise, and if they ever discovered that his Force Potential surpassed even mine - which was, from what Dooku and Fay had told me, the highest on record since at least the New Sith Wars – then both groups would want to take him from me and convert him to their cause.

That was something I'd never allow, and if I had to, I'd vanish, hiding deep in sectors that would shelter me, or travel to Wild Space or beyond. Until Anakin and I were ready for what was to come, the longer the truth of his status as the Chosen One could remain known to only myself, Dooku, and Fay, the safer the galaxy would be.

"Heavy," he finally replied, ignoring my instruction to not comment on the weight, and forcing me to bring my thoughts to the here and now. "Tight too," he added after twisting again at his waist, trying to get more comfortable in the armour.

"Can you move freely?" I asked, wondering if he'd grown more than I'd expected. If he had, then adjusting the straps for the various sections of armour wouldn't be an issue. The underweave might be problematic, but as it wasn't composed of beskar like mine, it only offered slight protection and a replacement shouldn't be too hard to purchase.

"Yes, but I can feel it when I move."

I smiled. "Good." I placed my hands on his pauldrons and gave them gentle tugs, ensuring they were secure. "We don't want them falling off when we enter battle now, do we?"

"I guess not," Anakin replied, unsure of himself. "It's just… different."

"It's okay to miss her," I said, offering a gentle smile. "I'm sure, wherever she is in the Force, she's happy that you're finally starting the journey to be the protector she knew you would become."

He smiled, the uncertainty slipping away, suggesting I'd guessed the reason. "Yeah. I just wish…"

"I know," I said, patting his pauldrons one last time before letting them go. "Now, can you tell me what you're now wearing?" I asked, shifting the conversation onward, past his feelings for his mother. While they were understandable, I didn't want him dwelling on them.

"Mandalorian armour."

"This," I said, tapping a fist against his chest plate, "is Beskar'gam. The mark of the Mando'ade. You are my Padawan, yes, but you are also my Ad as well. We are family. It's my duty to train you, to prepare you, for battle and war. To ensure that when the time comes for you to stand there, defending those unready to defend themselves, you won't fail or surrender your ground. We don't share blood, as many would expect of a family, but aliit ori'shya tal'din."

"Family is more than blood," Anakin repeated in Basic.

"It is," I responded, my smile growing at Anakin understanding some Mando'a. "I might not be your father by blood, but I am your father by choice and that makes us family. While the Jedi might not accept that, or even consider that too many, the bond between Master and Padawan is such a connection, to me it is. Masters Dooku and Fay are my family, as are you, Fenrir, Simvyl, Bo, HK, R2, and a few others." There was a lesson in there about letting go, or at least letting those in your family leave to live their own lives, however, that was a matter for another time.

I wasn't the type to entirely let someone go, so to preach that message would be hypocritical. It would also be entirely pointless as I knew Anakin wouldn't, and likely couldn't, do as the Order would expect. That could, when the time came, be an issue during Anakin's Trials, but I'd face that when the time came, hopefully having found some form of balance and acceptance of what we were, and how we interacted with the Force before then.

While I'd not directly brought Anakin up with Adas, I could see how some of what the ancient Sith King was teaching me could be applied to Anakin as well. Adas was a Sith, but to him, it was a natural state – which, as he was of the Sith species, made sense – of being, and a choice taken by the Banite Sith. I knew everything he had and would teach me was manipulated by his opinion on the Force and natural inclination toward the Dark Side, but he wasn't teaching me to lose myself in the Force, more to embrace all aspects of it and embrace who I was, and what the Force was to me. I'd also failed to sense any hints of deceit from him, before or after taking Natural Selection, suggesting that, from his point of view, he was being honest in what he was saying and teaching me.

Adas, when told how the current Sith were moving – acting from the shadows, shifting pieces into place slowly, not actively taking what they should – hadn't reacted well. The string of insults he hurled at them for betraying what it meant to be a Sith had been interesting, and I was reasonably sure I'd learnt how to curse in the ancient Sith language based on some of what he'd said.

Adas held some respect for Revan, at least from what he already knew and the gaps in his history that I filled in. While he disliked that Revan had abandoned his path because of love, Revan had, in Adas' words, shown the force of character to shape the path of the galaxy to his vision. At least until he was betrayed by his apprentice and friend when Malak was unable to see through whatever the Sith Emperor had done to the pair when they'd fought him.

Given Revan was, from what I'd learnt, one of the few Sith from the Old Republic to insist on there only being two Lords of the Sith, I wondered if he'd not played some part in what had caused Darth Bane to found the Rule of Two. I'd never heard of Revan having a Sith holocron, but if he had and Bane found it, it would help explain where the idea of just two Sith Lords had come from.

"So why won't Serra talk to you? Isn't she family?"

Anakin's question caught me off-guard; I grunted before collecting myself. "She is," I began, smiling as I remembered my time spent with Serra, "and it was because of that connection that she came to Naboo to fight at my side. And why Master Drallig came after her. To be clear, I didn't want her there, didn't think she should have to choose between the Order and me, and I feared something might happen if she came. I was right, but not in the way I expected."

"Because her Master died?"

"Yes," I replied, nodding at my son. "To Serra, while she might not admit it openly, Master Drallig was the closest she'd ever had to a parent. Unlike you and I, she was taken in and raised by the Order. Losing him hurt her deeply, and to help her recover, her new Master has decided to restrict her access to anyone – not just me – until she comes to terms with her loss." Seeing it from the Jedi perspective, I could understand Windu's decision, though I wouldn't have done the same in his shoes. I also understood that, while the restriction was on interacting with others in the Order in general, I knew the true target of her isolation was me and the bond I shared with Serra.

"Good." I leaned back and blinked, caught out by Anakin's response." I mean, not that she's not around, or that her Master died," he clarified quickly, "just that it wasn't y-you that died. I…" He stopped there and looked away, an arm coming up to wipe his face.

"Ni kar'taylir." He turned back to me. "I'm glad I didn't die too," I say with a smirk, helping to lighten the mood. "However, Serra needs time to recover from Master Drallig's death. Even with all her training, handling such an event is painful, and we have to give her the time needed to release her pain and emotions regarding the loss of her Master into the Force."

"That's stupid!" My brow rose at Anakin's blunt and forceful response. "I… I mean, why do we have to forget our f-family and friends?"

"We don't," I replied, placing my hand back on his shoulder. "The Order believes that we need to learn to let go of our emotions; at least as it pertains to forming attachments. Otherwise, the risk for most, if not all, Force users, is that fear of loss of the ones we care for will lead us blindly down the path to losing ourselves within the Dark Side." I paused for a second, wondering how my wording had changed over the years, the influence of Dooku and Adas prominent in my thinking now against what I'd foolishly believed not long after first arriving at the Temple and becoming friends with Serra.

"Anyway," I resumed, choosing to change the topic, "that is a matter for another time; when you are further along in your training." I stepped back, admiring my ad in his armour. "What matters today is the side of you that is Mando'ade, and understanding the history of your armour." I turned him around, aiming him toward the table where his gauntlets and helmet rested. "Go and get the rest of your armour."

He moved off, and I waited until he'd reached the table and picked up the helmet before I spoke again. "Traditionally, an adiik's armour is made only from durasteel. The time, effort, and personal importance of using beskar is reserved only for those who've passed their verd'goten. Because of this, and to instil a sense of history, the various sections of the adiik's armour come from those who came before; meaning their buir and ancestors." Anakin turned, the helmet in his hands as I explained the importance of his first set of armour. "I lack durasteel armour from when I was younger, and as I'm the first of our Clan, there's no history I can add to your armour. Instead, our allies in Clans Kryze and Ordo have offered sections from armour worn and reshaped by their clans for millennia." Anakin paused at hearing that, the helmet about to be lowered over his head. "Your chest piece was once worn by Dorgo Kryze, and your boots come from Bo. The pauldrons and greaves come respectfully from Duke Torrhen and his son Osto."

"Is it ok for them to do this?" Anakin asked, the helmet hovering amusingly just above his head.

"Yes. When a new or reformed clan rises, their allies, if they have any, are allowed to offer such gifts. It is to show that while the clan is small, we are part of something greater. We stand as one people, one culture, one ideal. We have a debt of honour to Clans Kryze and Ordo for their offerings, but I know we'll both work to fulfil that debt." Anakin nodded, the helmet now on his head. "That said, I suspect Alors Adonai and Torrhen consider the debt already paid for through ensuring they had the chance to fight at my side on Naboo, and the hefty spoils of war they departed with." Anakin nodded again as he secured the first gauntlet, and I wondered what the duke had planned for the Lucrehulk. Whatever it was, I'm sure it would both aid the Mando'ade in growing stronger and anger the Trade Federation.

As Anakin picked up the second gauntlet I turned and extended my hand toward a shelf. While I lacked the fine control I desired, I had enough retained skill – along with constant moments of training – to trust myself to use the Force to lift an object and bring it to me. I hoped to soon have the fine control back – Dooku's lessons many years ago being a massive help for that – and rediscover the more creative methods of using the Force that Bo, Serra, and Naz had enjoyed.

The small box I'd lifted reached my hands just as Anakin secured the second gauntlet. "As I said, I lack the sections of durasteel armour that could be used in your first armour, however," I opened the box slowly, "I have something that will ensure all Mando'ade know that you are part of Clan Shan. Plus, it'll help complete the look."

I pushed the box toward him and watched as he observed the box approaching, his hands moving out cautiously to gather it. Once he had it, I released the Force from my command and watched as he slowly opened it fully.

"Is this…" his voice, unmodulated as he'd not engaged the function, cut off as he saw what was inside the box.

"It is," I replied, moving toward him as one of his hands reached into the box. "You haven't completed your verd'goten, and when you do, you're free to compose a personal item to commemorate it. Until then, as your buir and Alor, I permit you the right to wear a cloak crafted from my kill; the greater krayt dragon of Tatooine."

"Wizard!" he said as he lifted the cloak from the box. I'd had this made back on Mandalore, not long after Bo had told me Anakin needed armour. Given the size of the dragon, converting one section into a small cloak for Anakin was a trivial matter – there were still tonnes of material, including meat and pearls, stored in a secured freezer deep in Clan Kryze's estates. Since I lacked the infrastructure to have a Mandalorian estate – or at least the manpower and clan size to secure and protect it – the remains of my kill stayed with Clan Kryze, though I'd finally convinced Adonai to let me pay for the energy and men that guarded the frozen vault.

I moved closer to Anakin and took the cloak from him. He turned rapidly, his excitement flooding into the Force so strongly that I suspect Bo might sense it even though we were thousands of lightyears apart. It only took a moment to secure the cloak, the fact I was attaching it from behind and on someone smaller was the only issue, and once it was secured I tapped his helmet. "There, now turn around so I can see you."

He turned, the cloak shifting in as he did. "Perfect," I said with a wide smile. "You look every bit the young warrior, verd'ika. However, as the HUD will be informing you, your vambraces only have a grappling cable and computer functions installed. That is because, even for an adiik, the choice of weaponry is a personal one. The only restriction I'm placing on you, for now, is limiting you to a single offensive capability. Prove yourself worthy, and I'll allow you to add whatever you want. Now, what sort of weaponry and extras would you like to add to them?"

Anakin looked down at the vambraces, each bearing a small mark on them for Clan Shan. In time, he'd add a personal sigil and, I suspected, replace the Clan Shan one with one for Clan Skywalker. That, however, was for far into the future.

"Um, can I think about it first?"

"That's what I want you to do," I replied. "Now, I want you to spend the next few days wearing the armour whenever you're inside Raven." I didn't want him wandering around Raith's research facility in the armour, otherwise it might concern many of his employees. It was why I was also only wearing part of the armour, with most covered by robes I'd had made from the krayt dragon's hide. Those were darker than normal Jedi robes, but the Council hadn't commented on them when I'd spoken with them on Naboo. Given Dooku's choice to wear far higher quality clothing than most Jedi, it would've felt like targeting if they'd called me out on my choice of fabric for the robes. "You need to grow used to the HUD and how it reacts to the movement of your head and simple commands. Once we leave, I'll want an idea of what you plan for your loadout, and we'll begin purchasing the components on the way to our next destination."

"Okay." He turned and moved toward the door, which had me raising my mechanical arm.

"Anakin," I called out, making him turn just as the recorder in the arm activated.

"Cam!" He whined, not wanting another image or video taken. Just like many youngsters his age.

"Perfect," I said with a wide smile before ending the recording. "On you go," I added, shooing him toward the door. He paused for a moment, and I knew he was glaring. I bit back some laughter at the reversal of the situation of a Padawan glaring up at their Master as I'd done that on multiple occasions with Fay and Dooku, and to be on the other side of it amused me.

Once the door slid shut behind him, I let out the chuckles I'd been holding back. I was going to enjoy being on the other side of that situation over the next few years.

Looking down, I accessed the limb and transferred the various pictures and recordings I'd taken of Anakin while he'd gotten into his armour. Bo would want a copy, which I'd send as soon as we were clear of the Orion System. For security, Raith had all Holonet traffic restricted to only those needed for official SST communications. Once we were clear of that, I'd also send the recordings to Ferox, so he and Lia could see how Anakin was getting on.

Part of me shared Anakin's pain that his mother wouldn't get to see him in the armour, and I hoped that, wherever she was, she approved of my training and plans for her son. War was coming and I'd be damned if he and I weren't ready for it.

… …

… …
I looked around the bay, taking in the various technicians, engineers, and researchers who had worked on Raven over the last month and a bit. "Thank you for this," I said to Raith as we shook hands," though I still think I should at least be covering the cost of the work and materials."

"Nonsense!" Raith replied, waving his free hand dismissively before patting my hand that was shaking his with that hand. "You, your Padawan, and those who travel with you are my guests. You've allowed me to see and experience something few beings in the galaxy can say they've had the pleasure of," his eyes darted past me, toward Raven, who was resting at the far side of the bay with the others already onboard. "Even going so far as to allow me to examine your incredible vessel. Upgrading her and adding some small additions doesn't even come close to the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity it was to study her and get to know a Jedi."

"Along with anything your company develops of the hundreds of scans you took of Raven and her systems," I shot back jovially, smiling to say I didn't mind that he had those scans. The Jedi had them as well, as would a few others, though Raith was the first to dive deeply into Raven and how the biological and mechanical components of her frame came together to form something greater than the sum of the parts.

Raith laughed heartily. "Guilty as charged!" He exclaimed as we stopped shaking hands. "While there's much of Raven's build that I don't yet understand, I'm an engineer at heart and as head of a major corporation, I'm always looking for ways to push the limits of what can be done."

"I'm sure the Reformation doesn't help with that."

"No, it certainly doesn't," he agreed as we turned and began walking toward Raven. "I understand why the changes were needed, but it's been a thousand years, and the galaxy has moved on. Just like you, others including myself find ourselves in a similar position: being restrained by laws that are from a different era."

"You'll get no argument from me, or many others," I remarked. "I do hope that what you've learnt from Raven helps you find ways to expand around that law and others like it."

"Much of Raven's layout cannot be duplicated. Not without speaking to the Sekotan engineers and growers who were responsible for her construction. However, there are avenues of research that I'd have never considered if not for getting the opportunity to examine and observe this wondrous vessel."

"I look forward to seeing the advancements SST make in the future, and if there's ever anything I can help with, please don't hesitate to call." Given his position as the head of one of the biggest corporations in the galaxy, there was little a single Jedi Knight could do to help, but I'd already decided on one way to thank him.

The galactic premiere for Fellowship of the Ring was still about a year away, as the company behind converting the trilogy into holomovies was making all three back-to-back to back to save on costs. But as the creator of the story, and someone who retained a role in overseeing the production – even if that was done remotely – I had a few batches of tickets available to offer to people I was close to. Those for the galactic premiere, which would take place on Coruscant, were limited, but I already knew who would be getting those tickets.

The company behind the production was sparing little expense on the project, and I just hoped that what they were making, and what advice I could give, would ensure that what was created was worthy of the source material. I also wondered how Tolkien would feel about his work being shared with another galaxy, and hoped he approved of my choice to publish his greatest work here.

Because of that, and wanting Anakin to have some fun before we headed to the first Force sect for training – which I had determined would be the Matukai – I planned to swing by Alderaan. The planet in The Core was being used for principal photography as the company had agreed that using real locations – with subtle enhancements added in post-production – was the better choice than shooting it all before an empty screen and adding in everything else digitally. It amused me that, with all the technology in this galaxy, the choice to make movies physically was still the preferred way of doing it, though with the variety of locations available across the Republic, it made sense.

While the first part of the trilogy had finished principal shooting, I figured Anakin would enjoy seeing how a holomovie was made, and it would let me see how things were going in person. I knew the details via Holocalls, but I wanted to speak directly with those on-site, not just because I wanted to ensure the work was being translated properly, but because of the investment I had in the project.

I'd been paid about two hundred million credits for the rights to the trilogy, which was the lowest outright offer I'd received, but had still been enough to ensure my earnings went safely north of a billion credits. What had convinced me to go with this company was that, beyond them putting down in writing that I had a veto on certain matters, I was guaranteed a cut of the revenue taken from across the galaxy. That cut came before the studio paid anyone for their work on the project, or handled the tax requirements on the various worlds where they filmed or had offices based. Based on the figures from Shokvo – who remained my point of contact with the publishing company that handled the Lord of the Rings and was now responsible for getting Knights of the Old Republic out to the masses – the base floor of projections for my take was north of three hundred million, and that was just for the first movie. If the series was a success, then I could earn a billion credits plus from the holomovies, to say nothing of the cut I'd get of any merchandise linked to them.

I was uncertain about going to the premiere, as while I could maintain the public position of being a guest of either Palpatine or Padmé – both of whom had invites and promised to attend – the fact was going meant taking Anakin to Coruscant. That was an issue I wasn't sure how I would handle, as the only obvious choices to avoid him attending the premiere were to place him at the Temple or leave him with Bo on Mandalore.

Neither was appealing as I felt Anakin would be annoyed, if not insulted, that I'd not taken him to the premiere, which meant I'd either have to not attend the premiere or take him with me and bring him to the attention of the Jedi and Banite Sith. The other major issue was that, by returning to Coruscant, if I'd not developed the shields needed to hide my true intentions I'd probably have both Jedi and Banite Sith wanting me captured, though for entirely different reasons.

Compared to the danger of placing Anakin and myself near the Banite Sith, placing Raith near them was a minor risk, one made less so as I'd be shocked if the pair didn't already have some influence and connection to Raith. Damask Holdings was a major investor in several of the subsidiary companies of SST, and because of that I doubted Hego Damask – aka Darth Plagueis – wasn't at least passingly familiar with Raith, and vice versa.

Eventually, the Banite Sith would learn that Raith had helped improve Raven, and would try to worm their way – legally and illegally – into SST records for access to that data. Raith assured me that only those at this research location could access Raven's data and that none could leave the facility with any form of data storage device. I wasn't sure how infallible the security was, but I was glad he was placing insane levels of security around data relating to Raven, though I knew that was simply to prevent corporate espionage rather than keeping me happy.

"If there's ever a situation where I require a Jedi or Mandalorian," Raith replied, drawing my thoughts back to the present, "your name will be the first I consider. Beyond even speaking to the Co-Chancellors," he added with a chuckle as he clapped my shoulder. "I do hope that you'll continue to encourage Anakin's interest in engineering. I know he's destined to become a Jedi," I felt a flash of amusement at that, "but he has a gift for design that has to be nurtured. I've rarely seen such insight from any bar myself," he added with a wide smile.

"I have every intention of supporting him," I said, returning his smile, "Though I'll try and persuade him to not flood the private inbox you provided us with questions he has on a daily basis."

"Ha! Anything he sends, even a simple update of what he's doing, will likely be more appealing than ninety per cent of what I have to endure each day." I nodded, agreeing that the idea of daily corporate meetings and calls didn't sound appealing in any way. "Force, if his insights continue to develop, I suspect the reward for all of us will have several of my board members fainting when they learn the ideas are coming from a child." He looked around conspiratorially, before leaning close and half-whispering. "Between you and me, I wouldn't mind if some of those board members, or their accountants, died of shock at such information."

I chuckled. "As a Jedi, I cannot comment on such opinions, nor do I have to fear such meetings. As a Mandalorian, I'm sure I could suggest methods that would… encourage them to be less restrictive of your time."

Raith laughed heartily. "If I could arrange it now, or persuade you to stay for a few more days, I'd pay whatever you wanted to see that happen. Force, if I could, just for the sight of those people running around in fear, I'd grant you control of one of SST's subsidiaries."

I leaned back, making a face that suggested I'd just eaten a live Ewok. "Thank you but, no. With respect, running a major company sounds even less appealing than entering politics. Something Chancellor Palpatine has continued to gently suggest I should do."

That drew another barking laugh from Raith. "Yes! That would be almost as much fun to watch as granting you one of my companies. Perhaps more so as most of the Senate are nothing more than blood-sucking parasites!" I chuckled in agreement. "Still," he said as we reached the ramp leading into Raven and he extended his hand again, "it's been a pleasure to meet you and your party. Do stay in touch."

"Will do," I replied as we broke the shake, "and I'll make sure he sends you the technical readouts for the various upgrades you've installed in Raven."

"Yes, yes. However, for anything relating to the shields, make sure the message lacks the data. I'll arrange a location for a courier to deliver it personally as you never know who might be listening on the Holonet."

"Of course." I took a step back, moving onto the ramp. "Until we speak again, may the Force be with you, my friend."

Raith chuckled and shook his head. "Never thought I'd see the day a Jedi would consider me a friend." I smiled at that, as while I wouldn't call Raith a friend – nor would the Interface via Observe, it was better to play on the term to ensure he remained friendly. "And given your adventures, I think you'll need the Force with you more than I will." He chuckled again. "Battling krayt dragons, spice-pushing cults, and invasions is something I don't have a need or want to experience."

"A Jedi has many moments of quiet contemplation, but I do seem to find myself in trouble more than most."

Raith waved a finger at me. "Careful now, the universe, or should I say the Force, might hear you and decide you need a new challenge."

"Haran, I hope not. I need to make sure Anakin's trained before my next adventure."

We shared one final laugh, and then I gave him a quick nod before turning and walking up the ramp. "Hey girl," I said, running my organic hand over a section of Raven's flesh, "ready to fly again?"

The section of wall I was stroking pulsed, lights moving in a cornucopia of colours that dazzled me even now, several years after first bonding with her. Through the Force, as dim as I was keeping the connection, I sensed Raven's delight to finally travel the hyperspace lines once more. We'd gone out regularly during our time at this facility, testing the various upgrades – be they hardware or software that Raith's teams had installed, but we'd never left the system. Raven had enjoyed testing out the improvements almost as much as I did, but I knew she desired to feel the exotic matter of hyperspace caressing her skin.

"Soon, lass, soon," I added, giving the section of her frame a gentle pat. Behind me I heard the ramp rising, Raven having activated the systems without me needing to touch the controls. Since taking Natural Selection there were more and more moments when she understood and knew what I wanted done before I'd managed to act on those thoughts. Thankfully, none of the upgrades seemed to have interfered with this, nor her regular behaviour.

Raven still lacked weaponry, as neither Raith nor myself had been comfortable bringing in bioengineers – for differing reasons I suspected – to help with Raven's overhaul. Thankfully, the lack of offensive capabilities, bar the missile racks attached to mechanical sections – two racks under each wing – wasn't a major issue due to what Raith had given Raven.

While shielding for her was a priority alongside weapons, what Raith had provided went above and beyond that. Beyond installing shielding that was equivalent to what would be found on military-grade corvettes, even some light cruisers, it was a type of shield that, from what Raith knew, couldn't exist on any ship at least ten times Raven's mass and with a computing core taking up at least a third of all internal power.

I'd heard the term modular shielding before, just not when mentioned for a ship the size of Raven. The reason for that was because on every other ship that Raith used as an example, and all but a few stations, the transfer of power from one section of the shields to another was handled by teams of technicians. This transfer worked only as fast as the teams did, meaning the shields would remain weak until the commands were sent, and the computer reacted to them.

Raven was unlike any other ship in that she was alive and had a primary core equivalent of the brain of many sentients. That meant she could handle the calculations needed for diverting the power and do so before any crew could. That sounded remarkably useful for any ship, but Raith and Anakin had explained that, because of the tremendous strain such monitoring and adapting to every change in combat situations placed on the computer cores of most starships, it wasn't feasible for anything short of vessels approaching a kilometre long, and such vessels had to devote insane percentages of internal power and crew to managing it.

Only the ultra, ultra-rich could afford vessels with the size and power requirements to make it feasible, and all but a handful didn't as they'd be sacrificing so much internal space with their vessel as to make their living areas feel – for them – cramped. Raven, because her primary core was bioelectrical, could handle the work without it causing anything more than minimal – less than zero-point-five per cent – drop in efficiency. We all considered that drop-off acceptable, and I expected it to decrease as Raven grew used to controlling and powering the shields.

Curious about the system the Scimitar had, I'd brought up the idea of installing a cloak, either one he had on hand, or purchased from the market, but he'd dismissed it. While he did admit to installing such systems on a handful of vessels – which had me wondering about who constructed the Scimitar and if Raith had played a part in the Sith ships' construction – the issue was getting access to the rare and expensive crystals that were needed to power the system. Beyond the base price for such crystals, unless you knew the right people, paid exorbitant extra fees, or attempted to steal the crystals, you could be waiting years if not decades to get enough crystals to power such a system for more than a few months of full use.

He had said he was considering ways to make the technology more accessible and efficient, but he wasn't sure if he'd ever discover a method. Anakin had offered to help, and Raith had provided some data for the boy to examine; however, I was unsure if he'd be able to find a workaround. At least not before he grew bored of the puzzle and shifted to another.

The other upgrades that Raith had installed on Raven were less obvious, and seemingly less impressive, but still improved her dramatically. Her reaction time to commands was still off the charts and had been boosted slightly with the replacement of data cables where they could be replaced, but now her thrusters and sub-light engines produced more thrust for less fuel and in less time granting her a degree of manoeuvrability only surpassed by fighters designed for rapid manoeuvring. Her hyperdrive wasn't touched, as few models could surpass the base 0.7-rated hyperdrive the Sekotans had installed, plus it was fused into her frame such that any attempt to remove it would hurt Raven. Because of our bond, I'd already seen that hyperdrive drop to a 0.5 rating when Raven pushed herself, and I felt that as I grew more comfortable using the Force naturally, and applied that to my bond with Raven, she'd be capable of slightly faster speeds. Regardless, with the upgrades, Raven was capable of dancing around ships half her size, to say nothing of those larger.

"Hey R2," I called out as I passed the engine room, the astromech having adopted the location as his. "Everything looking good?" I had little need for an astromech as Raven's secondary – mechanical – core handled plotting jumps and had a greater memory than the droid. Nor was there as much repair work to do as Raven was predominantly organic. Because of that, the droid had, by his own volition, taken the role of chief engineer, focusing on ensuring the hyperdrive and other engines were working optimally. HK had noted that the astromech that had served with him when with Revan – T3 – had done the same, and it amused both droids and me to see R2 filling that role.

R2 had also had some upgrades installed by Anakin, though only after the droid and Raith had gone over the plans. While his frame was still composed of durasteel, he now had a dedicated blaster installed, replacing one of the various arms that extended from inside his frame. A handful of spare power clips were stored in the frame as well. There was also a small but powerful sonic cannon that, while not capable of outright killing, would disorient any sentient it was fired at. Long enough for the droid to escape, or someone with him to take down the target.

R2 was pleased with the upgrades, just as he was to be serving as an engineer, and he responded to my question with a series of excited beeps and whistles while giving me a mock salute with one of the arms that extended from his frame.

"Excellent," I said, responding to the droid's musical reply. "Just keep an eye on everything, we don't want things going haywire once in hyperspace."

R2 gave a whistle of agreement, and I resumed my walk toward the cockpit, though as I passed through the central communal area, I slowed as I saw Anakin. He was leaning over the main table, engrossed in a datapad while Fenrir was lounging nearby. As usual, the tuk'ata was taking up the entire main couch that encircled the table at the centre of the room, leaving just enough room for the boy to sit there without being crushed.

"Anakin." When he didn't respond I moved closer and looked at the pad. It contained the information of the Z-95 Headhunter, which I knew was a precursor to the X-Wing, and I'd given the design – or at least what I had of the design from my time studying on Fondor – to him. The challenge was to keep the vessel a single-seater fighter but convert it to a more general role while adding hyperdrive capabilities. I was curious to see if he could, unintentionally create something like the X-Wing decades before it was made in the other timeline. While the design had flaws, its overall ability made it a good backbone fighter for a star force. Raith was aware of the project and had offered some advice to Anakin before we'd left, though he wasn't a huge fan of the overall design, feeling it was overly complicated and expensive for a fighter.

"An'ika," I said once closer. However, he failed to respond to that either, and after a chuckle, I moved closer and tapped his shoulder.

"Wh?" He asked, almost leaping from the chair. "C-Cam?"

"Enjoying your work?" I asked, not bothering to hide my amusement at how lost in his studies he'd gotten.

"Yeah." He blinked and looked around. "Am I late for training?"

"No," I replied after chuckling. "Just wanted to check in on you before we took off."

"Oh, ok." With that, he turned back to the pad.

I shook my head, and moved toward Fenrir, scratching him behind an ear. "Make sure he doesn't spend all day on the pad." The tuk'ata snorted, dismissing me and I wondered which would be the first to move - the engrossed boy, or the lazing war beast.

Moving away, I headed down the short passage toward the cockpit. I passed the small alcove that doubled as the access point to Raven's cores. Well, to her mechanical core as the organic brain was located deep in her frame, far from where anyone could reach unless she revealed its location.

As the doors to the cockpit opened, Simvyl turned, looking up at me from the co-pilot's chair. HK was settled, as normal when he wasn't calibrating his weapons, at one of the secondary stations, which now that we had some offensive firepower along with the shields, finally served a purpose. While HK would prefer we had more than a few missile racks for offence, he was impressed by the shielding and was already contemplating if it would be possible to adapt it to his frame.

"How we looking?" I asked Simvyl as I slipped around and into the pilot's chair. As I sunk into the chair, the edges then moving to form a partial shell over my legs and back. That change in the seat was something that had occurred after taking Natural Selection, and may well have been a reaction to her fearing she'd lose me because of how I'd struggled in the immediate aftermath of the change. The partial covering of my legs made the connection to Raven stronger, and the various switches and levers I had to move to power up the engines for pre-flight started activating on their own; Raven knew the patterns and anticipated my actions.

"Everything's in the green," he replied as my hands brushed over sections of Raven's organic shell before grasping the helm. "Power core's fully charged, tanks are full, and we're clear to depart when you want."

"Good."

The slightest pressure on the controls was enough for Raven to shift power to the engines. I could feel the subtle shifts she carried out my orders before they were given, and sense the way the increased power drawn from the core flowed through her systems.

Gently easing back on the controls, Raven lifted, though if not for the viewport, there'd be no way to tell as the movement was silent. Turning her nose toward the hangar entrance, I saw Raith standing in the control tower. Though it was more of an elevated room than a tower, I still referred to it as such.

I gave him a mock salute, one he returned with a wide smile, and a moment later he shifted from view; the canopy of the forest that surrounded this facility took up the view as we eased toward the exit. As the light of the sun kidded Raven's skin, I felt her delight to be in the light again, and free to do what she was born and loved doing.

As we angled upward, I wondered what our time with the Matukai, the first Force sect we were going to study with, would be like. I'd read the files on their world and culture carefully, but I knew you couldn't trust everything you read in an archive. Nor to form a proper opinion until you'd seen and experienced something for real.

The issue with the Matukai, unlike with other Force sects such as the Witches of Dathomir – who, while weren't all dark siders like I'd feared, were very anti-male and as such, unlikely for Anakin and me to visit any time soon – or the Shapers, was that they didn't have a dedicated temple. They were based on Karvoss II, which is where we'd be heading after a stop-over on Alderaan to speak with those involved in the production of the Lord of the Rings trilogy of holomovies, and that was the final destination of this leg of our voyages.

From the Celebratus Archive, I'd discovered that they called their equivalent of Jedi Masters Instructors, and they did generally congregate on Karvoss II. Because one Instructor could take on multiple students, and there was no requirement to have a decent Force Potential, I suspected training could be arranged for Simvyl as well as myself and Anakin. The issue was going to be finding an Instructor as the Matukai numbers were estimated at less than five thousand, and even if all of them were on Karvoss II – which I felt was unlikely – the planet had a population of over two billion.

That said, for all the difficulty that was going to go into locating an Instructor and convincing them to train us – I wasn't sure if I'd approach them as Mandalorians or Jedi – they were the logical first sect to study with. The Matukai emphasized using one's Force connection, no matter how trivial, to improve and enhance their body. From what I'd read, even someone with Simvyl's low Force Potential could, with sufficient training, compete against a Jedi for a few minutes. At least so long as the pair were fighting without weapons or other Force powers.

The Matukai training, from what the Archive files had said, placed a focus on training in ways that reminded me of moving meditation – Alchaka – even drawing on combat training for it. That, to me, felt more natural than repeating simple tasks like disassembling and then reassembling a lightsaber, blaster, or another mechanical device.

The Jedi wished for one to release their emotions, specifically any that could lead to darker impulses like fear, anger, and hate, into the Force. The issue for me was that, because of Eidetic Memory, even when I did release my emotions linked to events like the Bando Gora and Vong, the next time I thought about them, the emotions returned in full. That was why I'd learnt to bottle them deep inside, only drawing on them on those rare occasions when I felt I had little to no other choice.

Succumbing to the Dark Side, at least to the point where I lost myself in it, was a major concern that filled my nights – be those when I was sleeping, meditating, or doing other things. I needed to learn some way to live with my memories and the emotions that encircled them, instead of being trapped in the past.

As much as it pained me to admit, Adas was an immense help in learning to, if not deny, ignore, and bottle up those memories and emotions, at least learn to live with them. To accept they were a part of me. There was more he wanted to teach me, but I was reluctant to begin those lessons, fearing that he simply wished to mould me – and by extension Anakin – into what he felt a Sith should be. He wanted a new Sith Empire, or one worthy of succeeding what he'd once ruled, rise: crushing the Jedi, Republic and Banite Sith in the process.

I wouldn't deny that the idea of leading a faction separate from the Republic and CIS held appeal, but I wasn't thinking too hard on the matter currently. The focus would remain on relearning what I'd known before, and discovering new ways to use the Force.

A burst of excitement rushed from Raven as we slipped into the upper ranges of the atmosphere. We'd both undergone changes since Naboo, but now it was time to push further and prepare for what was to come.

… …

… …
A/N: We'll be entering the training arc from the next chapter. That will take five chapters, cover four groups and roughly two years of time. While important to show the (re)training taking place, devoting more than a chapter to each risks becoming too repetitive/boring to read and write.
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This story is cross-posted on Fanfiction.net, Archive of our Own, and Royal Road.
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USSExplorer · Jul 10, 2024

A/N: Thanks to those helping me write and plan out this story and checking it for continuality and logical errors.

This chapter was released to those on the story's Discord, and who those support my writing anywhere from 1 to 4 months ago.

If doing either interests you, you'll find links at the bottom of the chapter.

NOTICE: The chapter was delayed due to multiple real-life issues ranging from personal matters to holidays. Going forward, this will be the rough date for when a chapter comes out from now on (I hope).

3.04 Training and Interruptions
… …

I kept my eyes narrowed as I climbed my way up the pillar of rock to the summit. This was the same thing I'd been doing for nearly two months, and as the dust and sand whipped up by the storm raging around me, I was reminded once again why I fucking hated sand. Yet, for all I hated the environment, and was developing a loathing for the man who insisted I head up here each day, I couldn't deny that the training was helping me recover and strengthen my Force connection.

Ever since taking Natural Selection, I'd been slowly opening my thoughts to the Force; letting more and more of the senses and energy that coursed through it into my mind. While I was far from ready to open myself fully to the Force, still fearing I'd suffer another overload like I'd endured when I'd awoken after the Interface had stopped filtering the Force, I knew I was getting better, getting stronger. I could sense the shifts and eddies in the Force as it flowed around me, with that connection feeling stronger during each day's exercises.

The reason I was climbing this Force-forsaken pillar of rock today, as I'd done so for nearly two months, was because of the Matukai Instructor that we'd eventually located on Karvoss II. It had taken us just shy of a month to locate a Matukai Instructor, and then almost a week of discussion with Instructor Mash Kafe, to convince him to train me, Anakin, and Simvyl.

Our first week of training had focused on – for Anakin and me – narrowing our connection to little more than a trickle. While the Matukai were as Light Side aligned by the Jedi, the focus Instructor Kafe placed on how to interact with the Force had more in common with a warrior's ideology; though, thankfully, they lacked the desire to use their training to do anything more than enhance themselves. That, along with the fact few if any who learnt Matukai techniques had even decent Force Potential was perhaps why the Jedi saw no need to monitor their actions as they did for groups like the Witches of Dathomir.

Since I was already narrowing my connection to the Force – though not for the reasons Kafe realised – and I had almost a decade of prior instruction in using the Force, Instructor Kafe had brought me out into this shabyr desert, pointed out this pillar of rock, and ordered me to head here each morning, climb to the top and remain there until either I could no longer endure the elements, or the sun dropped below the horizon.

Once I reached the top, I'd do as I always did, and adopt a basic meditation stance. Then, with the wind, dust, sand, and sun assaulting me, I'd draw on as small an amount of the Force as I could manage to reinforce and refresh my body. After a month of that, Kafe had then told me to begin carrying out simple activities that I knew instinctively as moving meditation. So far I was keeping to Beskar'pel, letting my knowledge of the Form guide my body while the Force eased its way through every fibre of my being.

The training was far from enjoyable, bordering on tedious and irritating on the best of days, but I couldn't deny that, after less than two months, I was already feeling the change. While my connection was still muted by choice, I could draw upon the Force to enhance myself impressively. I wasn't yet at the levels I'd been before, but I knew it wouldn't take long – perhaps not beyond the end of the year, which was three months away – before I was close to my old limits, if not readying myself to pass them.

Even when not carrying out the training, I could feel the Force flowing through every cell in my body; ready to enhance me if I so needed. Understanding, even fractionally, what the Force could do on a microscopic level was incredible, especially for those like Anakin and myself who had strong and/or deep connections to the Force. The way Instructor Kefe had explained the reactions and changes we'd experienced didn't come close to preparing me for what I was undergoing.

When I drew on the Force to empower myself, to push beyond my limits and strain my body in ways it would never be able to do otherwise, it was incredible. As if I was drawing on a limitless source of power that with the right training, I could bend to my desires with the slightest of thoughts.

While all this had similarities to my former Enhance powers, the difference was night and day. With the old Force Powers, I grew stronger when they were active, pushing myself to the limits of what a seasoned Jedi was capable of. Yet, experiencing what I was now, and knowing that while I wasn't at that level yet but would one day surpass it with ease as the Force did as I desired, was incredible. As if a blindfold had been lifted from my eyes and I could finally see what the Force offered if I so wished to use it.

The wind picked up, howling as it slammed into the pillar, and I was forced to tighten my grip; not wanting to fall and injure myself. The winds blasted into me, sending pinpricks of pain through my body as my robes and hair were tossed every which way by the force of nature and the sand and dust it carried. As with every morning or evening when I climbed or descended this pillar, I cursed out Kafe in my head. Shouting the words into the wind would only result in me getting a mouthful of sand, something I was growing to hate with a fiery passion.

There was no way that Kefe knew of my dislike – evolving into hatred – of sand, and while I disliked the reminder of my first encounter with Trandoshans right after my verd'goten resting at the edges of my thoughts, I couldn't deny how successful the training was. Yet I had to be mindful of my emotions since I was unable to release them into the Force as a Jedi should, not unless I wanted to then experience them as new, intense sensations the next day.

Each evening after my training I spent over an hour in the sonic shower, trying to remove every grain of sand that had somehow snuck into places where there was no logical way it could've reached. My robes were placed over Raven's exhausts, and I let her blast them in the hopes that it'd remove all the sand. It never did, and I knew that once we left this planet those robes, along with the ones worn by Anakin and Simvyl's clothing if they had to do the same training, though they currently weren't, were getting burnt. I'd then be spending the next few months in my armour, enjoying the hermetically sealed environment.

Anakin's training was coming along slower than mine, but that made sense. While he'd had some instruction from me and Dooku in the time leading up to Naboo, it hadn't been formal Initiate training. Still, when Instructor Kefe had displayed that he, someone with a Force Potential similar to Simvyl's, could punch his way through a decent sheet of durasteel, it left its mark. Yes, I knew I could - at least before Natural Selection - do the same, to learn that someone with such limited Force potential could do so was eye-opening.

For Anakin, who'd not seen such displays of power from me or Dooku before he'd become my Padawan, it had been an eye-opener and made him excited to begin his training. However, he was a long way from being able to do that; though that didn't stop him from asking me if he could try.

The first month of his training had been spent alongside Simvyl, focusing on the basics of how to draw minute quantities of the Force into themselves and then holding it there, and doing something else. Kefe had sensed Anakin's potential and had created a separate training regime for him than what Simvyl – and any normal new Trainee – was facing.

Since the boy lacked the combat experience I did, Instructor Kefe had shown him some simple combat techniques and styles to help him find a battle-orientated form of moving meditation. Anakin, even though he didn't realise it, could already use Alchaka when he was repairing and tinkering with machinery. So much so that I'd had to tap or even shake his shoulder to get his attention.

After that first month, Anakin had begun similar training to me, though he wasn't being sent deep into the desert before the crack of fucking dawn. Instead, he was standing on the roof of a building not far from the settlement where we'd found Kefe. Anakin also didn't need to spend days enduring the wind and sand, having to do so only for a few hours at a time. However, given the length of those sessions was increasing, I knew it wouldn't be long until he had to go the full day without leaving his location, and I smirked, wondering if enduring that would develop the hatred of sand he'd had in the other timeline.

To further Anakin's training, at least in ways I felt would help, I had him spend evenings sparring with Fenrir and Simvyl. That helped all three as for Anakin it was showing him how to fight a beast bred to defeat Force users or battle someone larger, stronger, and better skilled. For Fenrir, it began his training toward engaging opponents I expected him to face, both those who could draw heavily on the Force and those who couldn't. Instructor Kefe had also agreed to spar with Fenrir, and while there'd been a few early instances where the tuk'ata had almost lost control, disliking the Togruta being able to beat him so easily, things were going better now though there was still the odd evening where the tuk'ata didn't interact with any of us, suggesting he'd disliked his training that day and wanted to sulk.

As for Simvyl, the sparring with Anakin and Fenrir would help prepare him for the future and worked well with his training with Kefe. The Matukai Instructor had dedicated the most amount of time to the Cathar, which made sense as he was more akin to the sentients that sought out the Matukai for training. That was good as of the various Force sects I hoped to visit and train with this was the only one I felt he could learn from, and I wanted him to have the training there to help him have ways to pass the time while Anakin and I were busy with other training.

Since a trained Matukai practitioner was capable of battling, and in the right conditions, defeating a Jedi in melee combat, getting Simvyl to that level would be a major boost to his combat potential. I had plans to find a Teräs Käsi master in the future, and combining the Matukai techniques with a martial art designed to battle Force users would make Simvyl lethal to any who dismissed him because of his low Force presence.

The issue regarding all our training, as was often the case as I reached the summit of the rock pillar, was how much longer we could spend here. I knew that, if nothing else changed, war wouldn't break out for about ten years. However, I didn't want to spend all that time training, at least not in isolation as we'd be doing for the next few. That would leave me woefully unconnected and unprepared for changes in the timeline that I'd have to adapt to and counter.

Three months on Karvoss II was beginning to push at the rough limit I'd set for this adventure. I wanted to get to the next Force sect – which I was leaning toward being the Shapers – soon and be undergoing training with them before the year ended. While Raven was insanely fast, it still took time travelling to and from places like Karvoss II and Kro Var – the world of the Shapers – as they weren't on any major hyperspace routes.

The issue was that only being able to spend a few months, perhaps half a year, with each group, meant that we'd likely miss out on the more advanced techniques the groups used. Something that, I felt, would be of great use in the battles that sat just over the horizon.

While I'd not directly addressed the matter with anyone, Adas had accurately deduced this concern when I'd last spoken with him. The ancient Sith King had, after hearing about the current training I was undergoing – and what Kefe had hinted at would come next – hinted that he would be able to adapt them to better serve me. Since the Matukai training was focused on those with weak Force connections, I did wonder if we were missing out on ideas that would be more suitable for myself and my Padawan. Adas' offer certainly sounded appealing, but I feared that following his advice and listening to him for training would leave both of us open to the whispers of the Dark Side. Or, in my case at least, more open as they were always there; their promises of desire and power grew stronger whenever my temper spiked.

Adas had been ready for my concerns, and without my mentioning them, attempted to ease them. He'd spoken of how, for those of weak wills, taking the fast and simple route to the power the Dark Side hinted at was appealing. Those beings were, in his eyes, fools unworthy of what the Dark Side truly offered; of the power that lay beyond the obvious that only those strong of mind, body, and potential could grasp. Learning that Adas had once had children and that several made that mistake was unexpected, and suggested that he was slowly opening up to me. Or buttering me up for the fall he wished me to endure.

Regardless of his motives, which I knew weren't in any way altruistic, I was reluctant to accept Adas' help, at least for this training. I was already leaning on him heavily to learn to manage my darker impulses, reject them, and hide them from anyone who viewed me through the Force. So far I'd reached the point where Anakin no longer sensed the danger in me, at least not beyond the level he'd felt it before, but I didn't think I was able to hide it from Fenrir or Adas. Both of them were more attuned to the Dark Side and understood how to sense its presence.

The issue was that while Adas appeared to be sticking to his word about keeping the tutoring clean of any leaning, I knew the more I turned to him for help, the more his words would slowly twist me toward the Dark Side. It wouldn't take much for his intentions to become clearer, and his ideas for what I should become, and how I should shape the galaxy, to filter into me.

I didn't think the holocron could sense my opinions and feelings on most matters, at least when I kept my cool and did my best not to react to his words or suggestions, but so much of what he said made sense. War was coming for the galaxy, and whether I liked it or not, a new order was going to rise. I'd known of the threat of the Empire before emerging here, and that if I wanted to survive it, I either had to defeat it or join it. The latter was, and never would be an option, which left me having to defeat the Banite Sith: both of them thanks to my fuckup having seen Plagueis become co-Chancellor alongside Sidious. The challenge was how to do so when I'd lost almost all the little faith I held in the Jedi and Republic, and how to ensure that the darkness that the Banite Sith had spread, didn't linger after I defeated them.

Such thoughts always returned me to memories of the visions I'd shared with Anakin. If one of us stood alone against the darkness, or if we turned on each other, we failed. The only path forward, the only way the Force hinted to break what was coming that the vision had offered, was to shatter the galaxy while working together.

While I hoped that wasn't the path I had to take, I was slowly understanding that it might be my only choice. I disliked the idea that my path was set, that I had no choice in my actions, but I understood that to do as the vision – as the Force – wished, I could take my own path there. I just had to make sure that Anakin remained at my side; that I trained him well and the bonds between us became unbreakable.

The other thought that came to mind regarding that vision, was the idea that the Banite Sith weren't the source of the darkness. The Vong were out there, preparing to invade, and Force-knew what lay in the Unknown Regions that would look to take advantage of the chaos of the coming wars. Any of those threats – known and unknown – could be the true darkness that I had to battle.

The problem was, as with any vision the force offered, nothing was ever exactly what it appeared.

As I reached the summit of the pillar, I pushed all those thoughts away; letting my concerns be carried by the howling, pounding winds back to my cabin. I could return to them later once the day was over. Until then, my mind would remain calm and clear; the only thing that mattered was using as little of the Force as I could to endure what awaited me.

… …

… …
"I hate sand."

I bit the inside of my lip, holding back laughter at Anakin's comment as Raven ascended through Karvoss II's atmosphere. After three months of training under Instructor Kafe, I felt we'd spent as long here as we could, and it seemed Anakin agreed as he'd spent most of that last month standing in the desert on a rock outcropping.

"Aye, but the cold's worse," I replied with a smirk, letting some of my amusement show. "Creeps into your bones and freezes you up if you're not careful."

About the same time Anakin was instructed to meditate in the desert, Kefe had decided it was time to change up my training. To do that, each morning I'd flown Raven to the planet's southern pole and then been forced to perform my moving meditation in the biting cold winds of the pole. At first, it had been a relief to get away from the sand, dust, and heat of the desert, but by the end of the month, I'd almost found myself missing the tender mercies of a sandstorm.

On the first flight to the southern pole, Instructor Kefe had said that he wouldn't normally change up a new Matukai Trainee's training so quickly. However, he understood that I knew more about the Force than most Trainees and that none of my party would be able to commit to the years of training it took for one to be considered a master of their ways. He'd not been wrong about us not spending years training with him, but when we'd left, he'd been surprised at how soon after we'd met that we were departing.

While there were likely advanced techniques that I would be missing out on, nothing was stopping me from returning for a refresher course – I had the communication frequency to contact Kefe if we were in-system again – I felt that I understood enough about the basic tenets, and how they were applied, to end our training after only a few months. I'd also listened to Adas' pitch about how to adapt the training for one with a far stronger Force connection and while I'd yet to go over his words and suggestions with a fine-toothed comb, the initial pitch had sounded reasonable. Nothing he said hinted at exposing me or Anakin to the Dark Side; at least not in the ways that would see one choose the quick and easy path to power and thus lose themselves forever in the blackest corners of the Dark Side.

The day before we'd left, Anakin had shown me how he'd improved by throwing a punch that dented durasteel. Now, he could only do that when not distracted, as I'd done so to see his reaction and he'd hurt his hand, but it was a sign the training was sinking in quickly. He was far from what Kefe had demonstrated by punching through a similar sheet of metal – or my own tests which weren't far from breaking through a sheet – but it was an impressive improvement in three months, and the final nail in the coffin of us staying any longer.

The one thing I'd made clear, and he accepted without complaint, was that he wasn't to practise striking through anything while on Raven, nor on other worlds unless I permitted him to do so first. I'd rather not have to compensate others because of him having the idea to test his improvement in random places.

Of course, until we reached our next Force sect, he'd be wearing his armour, it was unlikely he'd attempt such a strike. His armour was composed of durasteel, so would likely bend – or even break – if he didn't also empower the metal of the armour. After having to reshape his gauntlets twice in the last month because of him testing his limits, I'd told him not to attempt it again until he could figure out how to push the Force into the armour granting it greater strength. I hadn't told him how to do so, mainly as I wanted him to discover it for himself, but I felt sure he'd learn it in due course.

My armour, and my replacement limb, didn't need that form or reinforcement due to the beskar in them. Still, I was practising pushing the Force into them. Not just to further enhance the metal, but so that I grew used to channelling the Force through the replacement limb. While I could call upon it with that hand, the connection felt colder, more distant. While that made sense, I disliked having the imbalance in what I could do and how and wished to overcome it without damaging the limb. I knew it would be some time before I understood how to empower my armour and limb, but felt certain I'd get there soon enough.

One unexpected benefit of the Matukai training I'd found was that it seemed easier to use the various martial arts that I knew. Or at least, when I used them in meditative training, Beskar'pel, Beskar'rev, and Teräs Käsi all seemed to gain levels at a faster rate, with the latter showing the greatest rate of improvement. Given that Teräs Käsi was initially designed to counter Force users, it made some sense that there'd be a decent overlap between that and Matukai training.

I'd started training Simvyl in that combat form, seeing as the Matukai training was helping him become a more dangerous fighter, and started sparring with him daily. Now that I had a decent understanding of how to control my Force use when I drew it into myself, I felt comfortable sparring with him at speed without worrying that I'd lose control and severely injure him. While my ability with Teräs Käsi wasn't great, resting in the lower half of the Professional tier, because of my Teaching skill, which was into the Prodigy tier, he was seeing steady improvements. The same was true of Anakin whom I was teaching Beskar'pel as that was the Mando martial art that favoured agility and movement over brute force.

Thinking on it, those martial arts, along with my Teaching skill and those linked to piloting and mechanics, were likely candidates to use my Tier Boosts on. Or at least the spare tier boost as I planned to lift Makashi to Paragon, the eighth tier. However, before that, I'd have to rebuild my lightsaber and I wanted to get the other lightsaber Forms I knew up into the Savant tier. Niman was the lowest of the other forms, sitting at Master:5 while Soresu was the highest – outside of Shii-Cho that was Maxed – at Master:96.

For the most part, I could still train the Forms even without a full-sized lightsaber or drawing on the Force. The only Form that had issues was Ataru, as it wasn't easy to do the many acrobatic velocities of the Form without the Force's help. Even so, many of the more advanced velocities weren't possible to train without a full-sized lightsaber.

Over the last few months, I'd decided that I wanted to attempt to rebuild the blade with the two smaller focusing crystals I'd had before. That meant attempting to fix or heal the crack in the one that was damaged, but I wasn't sure how to go about that. Or at least, I wasn't sure how to do so without doing something the Jedi likely wouldn't approve of. Using the Force to induce that sort of change leaned heavily into the Dark Side, but I had a connection with those focusing crystals which I wanted to maintain.

Whenever I rebuilt my blade, I'd be able to add the Mantle of the Force. The crystal once wielded by Revan was now fully aligned with me and my skill for Mechanics [Lightsabers] was high enough to allow a fourth crystal to be added to the hilt. However, for as much as I missed having the blade at my side, and felt as if something was missing, I understood I wasn't at a point yet where I was ready to rebuild the blade, and not just because I didn't know how to heal the damaged crystal.

My attention returned to the present as Raven alerted me that we were far enough away from Karvoss II to enter hyperspace. Once the jump was made, and the exotic, swirling energies of the faster-than-light travel washed over Raven's skin, I turned my attention to the next Force sect we'd be training with.

The Shapers of Kro Var were a sect that used the Force primarily to manipulate and control what they considered the four base elements of earth, water, wind, and fire. They were, like the Matukai, open to training other Force users. They were as martially inclined as the Matukai, though were more willing to display their Force usage openly. Given the Matukai channelled the Force inward, that made sense, and because the Shapers served as the law on their world, and had engaged in wars, I wondered what I might learn from them about using the Force in combat – particularly battles involving Force users on both sides of a conflict.

Since they allowed their members to use weapons – outside of lightsabers – then I'd also be able to work on my skill with my beskad while there. Simvyl and Anakin would also take such training as while my Padawan would one day build and wield a lightsaber, it was wise to know multiple ways to fight with varying weapons. For Simvyl, I planned, once all this training was finished, to have a blade forged for him made of phrik, along with some cortosis if I could acquire enough. That would grant him some ability to engage Force users, which given what I knew was coming and my growing suspicions about who I'd fight against, would be needed.

The biggest issue with heading to the Shapers was that they despised those who used the Force for mental tricks and telekinesis. So much so that, if anyone was caught using the Force in that way on their world and wasn't able to escape, they faced imprisonment for decades if not life at best.

I wasn't sure if the mental barriers I'd been forging to hide my thoughts and Force presence from others would be considered an issue, but I doubted it. From the records I'd read, their distaste toward mental applications of the Force was aimed at using it to influence others. Still, I'd have to be careful about how I behaved. I'd also have to speak with Anakin so he didn't attempt to practise or use the Force in ways that would get us into trouble.

That conversation would take place whenever we stopped for resupplies and refuelling. Kro Var lay into Wild Space and as such, I wanted to make sure we had more than we needed in every critical supply. While I doubted anything would go wrong, I wasn't going to take the chance we might end up stranded because I'd not packed for a long voyage.

That was the mistake that got you killed.

… …

… …
(Anakin's POV)
As he wandered through this section of the docking ring of the station they'd stopped at, Anakin wondered how much longer they'd be here. It wasn't that he wasn't enjoying looking at the various ships and trying to determine what modifications had been applied, or wondering about the few he'd never seen before. Far from it in fact, and he was glad his armour was recording everything he was seeing as he'd go over the ships when they left. It was more that he wanted to get on with his training and get to the point where he could build a lightsaber.

He understood that he wasn't ready for that yet, as he had far to go in his training, but the fact he still had to find a crystal was starting to annoy him. For most of it, he'd enjoyed his training with the Matukai, and was overjoyed to know now how to guide the Force through his body to be stronger, faster, and hopefully smarter. However, a Jedi without a lightsaber felt wrong to him. Though he did wonder if he'd ever be a proper Jedi.

From what Cam, Simvyl, Bo, and others had told him, the Jedi wouldn't have helped Naboo if not for Cam's actions. Even then, they only sent two Jedi along whereas the Mandalorians and Lokella sent thousands of warriors. Anakin didn't blame Cam for his mother's death – that anger was reserved for Decca the Hutt – but he felt that the Jedi and Republic should've done more to help Naboo. If they had, then the Lokella wouldn't have sent most of their fleet to help, and his mother would still be alive.

Anakin wished she'd been here to see him become a Jedi and see him in his armour. While not the beskar that Cam and Bo wore, Anakin adored the armour and had already made a few alterations to it that Cam hadn't been against, such as increasing the velocity the grappling cable fired at. That change granted the cable greater range and decreased the time it took before it could be used.

Thinking of his mother and his time on Karvoss II in the desert turned his mind to Tatooine. While Anakin was happy with how his life had gone since he'd been rescued from that place by Cam, he missed his friends like Kister and Pala from back then and wished to free them like Cam had freed him and his mother. Cam had listened every time he'd spoken of wanting to free them, to grant them the chances he'd had because of Cam. While Cam agreed they should be free as well, he kept saying they had to be cautious.

Tatooine was controlled by two powerful Hutts, something Anakin knew as before Watto had owned them, they'd belonged to Gardulla the Hutt. He'd just not realised how powerful she and Jabba were until Cam explained that they controlled two of the biggest Hutt clans and going after them would have most, if not all, of the galaxy's bounty hunters after them. Learning that Gardulla was Decca's mother added another layer of connections between them, though it didn't change Anakin's desire to get revenge for his mother's death.

Decca might not have fired the shot that killed his Mother, but it was his credits that paid for the pirates that attacked them. Just as he'd been behind previous attacks on the Lokella and the one who'd controlled the system before Cam and Master Dooku had freed the people there. That meant whenever Anakin thought about the Hutt, the fire within him, one demanding he destroy the Hutt, burned brighter than the twin suns of Tatooine. Almost as if a dragon stirred, ready to wake and destroy whatever stood in its path.

Anakin knew he shouldn't think about such thoughts, nor, privately, enjoy the idea of destroying Decca, the other Hutts, and those who engaged in slavery, but he did. It wasn't the Jedi way, but he knew he wasn't going to be a good Jedi. Which, given their choices to not help those in need, to sit back and do nothing when people were in danger, didn't upset Anakin as much as it might once have done.

Cam – who Anakin considered more like his brother than father – spoke about how a Jedi shouldn't draw on those darker impulses; and how they should be released into the Force. Or at least Cam had before Naboo had been invaded and Anakin's mother had died. Since then, or at least they'd left that swamp world, Anakin had sensed the same fury in Cam, though it wasn't aimed toward Decca and the Hutts.

For Cam, those flames burnt because of Trandoshans, the Lady Vosa who'd saved his sister Lia, and a few others whom Anakin didn't yet know of. Thinking about it over the last few months, Anakin realised that he'd always sensed that fire, that dragon's roar, inside Cam, but after the swamp world it wasn't as muted. As if whatever happened to Cam there – something that terrified Cam so much that he'd needed Anakin's help – had removed something that hid Cam within the Force.

Danger had radiated semi-freely from Cam since then, however, Anakin knew it was not aimed at him. At least not most of the time. There were evenings, which had grown more common since they'd landed on Karvoss II, where that danger had broadened and deepened: as if another was with Cam in his quarters as the danger was focused, precise instead of the all-consuming inferno it could be when Cam was angered. Yet Anakin had searched Cam's quarters when Cam had been at Raven's controls or otherwise engaged and found no hint of what was generating the danger.

Anakin knew he shouldn't search Cam's quarters like that, and that Raven was probably telling Cam he was there, but something about that focused, older, power called to Anakin. As if he needed to know what was causing it and understand it for himself. One day, Anakin hoped Cam would tell him what he was doing, but until then he'd remain patient. Cam was his… brother, friend, father, and Master, yet none of those titles felt right to Anakin. Cam was… he wasn't sure what exactly, beyond the one person Anakin knew he could count on. The one person in the entire galaxy that would stand with him no matter what.

He laughed gently as he walked, clearing thoughts of darkness in Cam and their odd situation. Anakin understood the Force wanted them to be together, but he was still getting used to the strange dynamic that existed between them.

"Something funny?"

Anakin stopped and turned, seeing the one who'd spoken was a Trandoshan. He didn't have issues with the species like Cam, but Cam's hatred of them had soured Anakin on them. Along with Gamorreans, Trandoshans were often seen as enforcers for the Hutts and other slavers on Tatooine, and as the hulking alien stepped forward, one clawed hand resting over a blaster, the HUD of Anakin's armour quickly scanned the alien and his equipment.

The blaster the claw was resting over was illegal in the Republic, though Anakin suspected that even on the Core worlds the Trandoshan would not be stopped by security, or would avoid the more heavily policed docking areas. From that, and the rifle slung over its back, and the vibroblade on the other hip, it didn't take a genius to understand this alien was a pirate, bounty hunter, slaver, or some odd combination of all three.

The HUD then provided details on the bay behind the Trandoshan. There were two ships there, though only one was clear enough for the HUD to match against records. The ship was in dire need of repairs, to say nothing of a new paint job, and blaster marks scorched the hull in over a hundred locations: and that was just what was visible to the HUD.

"Yeah, that hunk of junk you call a ship," Anakin shot back. Cam and Simvyl had warned him to be careful of his tendency to reply quickly, but Anakin didn't feel like being nice to this alien. Not when he was trying to threaten him simply because he was bigger. "Looks like it should be towing garbage."

"What?"

"I'm sorry. I meant to say towed away as garbage." Behind him, a coughing bark came from Simvyl suggesting the Cathar had bit back his amusement at Anakin's remark. That made Anakin smile, though the Trandoshan couldn't see it because of the armour.

"Why you little…"

The sound of a blaster rushing from a holster, along with Simvyl stepping forward between Anakin and the Trandoshan and placing a hand to gently push Anakin back, cut off the insult the giant lizard planned to use.

"Now, now," Simvyl said slowly, his voice low and Anakin saw his finger resting on the trigger, as if Simvyl expected trouble. "Let's not do anything stupid."

Anakin was again glad of the armour as it hid the look of confusion that rushed over his face. Trandoshans, in his opinion, were slow in the head with only Gamorreans and Klatooinian being slower.

The Trandoshan looked from him to Simvyl and then back. "Is this one your pet?" It asked, and Anakin tried to take a step forward, angered at anyone suggesting his friend was a slave. "Or perhaps your master?" That had Simvyl give Anakin a gentle push back even as the HUD noted the tensing of the Cathar's muscles and the emergence of a dozen Trandoshans deeper in the bay who were now stirring at the commotion.

Most had been out of sight while others were moving supplies, but many had turned, catching sight of what was occurring at the entrance to the bay they'd taken over. Each was armed similarly to the one they were dealing with, and Anakin was drawing on that information, using Cam's teaching to determine which blasters were the most dangerous, and how best to avoid them if a battle broke out.

He could feel the Force flow through him, accelerating his thoughts and motions as his mind worked to prepare a plan of escape if things turned sour. As much as he'd disliked it at the end, the training with Instructor Kefe was helping him draw upon the Force to be ready for combat.

"He's the son of my friend," Simvyl replied, his voice having dropped deeper. Anakin could sense Simvyl drawing on the Force, readying himself for combat just as he was doing. The pistol in Simvyl's hand, while still kept low, was now aimed at the Trandoshan's knee and at this range, Anakin knew Simvyl wouldn't miss. The Cathar's other hand left Anakin's chest and slid back to his lower back, where a vibroblade rested.

Unlike Cam's, Simvyl's blade wasn't made of beskar, but Anakin knew his friend was skilled with it. He'd enjoyed watching Cam and Simvyl spar with their blades, each moving faster than they had before because of the Matukai training. Neither was going for the kill, and Anakin knew Cam was holding back more than Simvyl, but they were looking to hurt each other as, from how Simvyl had explained it, the only way to train properly was to attempt to hurt your opponent. If one practised holding back, then when the time came to use a weapon for real, then your instincts would be incorrect, and you'd likely die.

Simvyl's style was markedly different from Cam's, but they moved so fluidly, so naturally with a blade-in-hand, that, to Anakin it was more akin to dancing than fighting.

"A Cathar friends with a Mandalorian?" The Trandoshan said, having recognized Anakin's armour, and assumed the father was also a Mando. The alien snorted in amusement. "Guess your people know their rightful place."

Anakin moved forward, a string of insults in a dozen tongues ready to be fired at the alien. However, before he could get them out, Simvyl had stepped into his path, cutting off his sight of the Trandoshan. "I lack the time, patience, or energy to waste educating one as absent-minded as yourself." Anakin smirked at the dismissal buried in the insult before the Cathar turned slightly, placing his free hand on Anakin's shoulder. "Come. Let us leave this being to his fallacies and return to your father."

After giving the Trandoshan a final glare – not that the alien could see it through the armour, Anakin turned. However, when he did, he stopped after only a single step. The HUD was reporting a group of eight Trandoshans approaching from the direction they had to go to get back to Raven.

Around them and the new group of Trandoshans, others were glancing around and moving back. At the same time, the Force was shifting in ways Anakin recognized easily as indicating danger was approaching.

Knowing what was about to happen, Anakin readied himself and using the Battlenet and the Force reached out to Cam. He felt he could handle one of the aliens, and Simvyl several more, but at odds of nearly ten-to-one, and with them trapped between two groups, they'd need help and quickly.

At that moment, the group of Trandoshans approaching them stopped, their hands drifting toward their weapons while the HUD informed him that the one that had first spoken to them, was now smiling, exposing rows of sharp, dirty yellow teeth.

"Shab."

… …

… …
(Cam's POV)
"Thanks for your business. If you're ever passing through here again, please don't hesitate to visit Basso's Brilliant Bazaar for all your vessel's needs, nor to recommend Basso to your friends."

I waved dismissively to Basso as I turned, having fuck-all intention of ever coming to this system, or dealing with the Toydarian, ever again. While Basso had been able to secure the higher quality fuel that Raven preferred – and after deepening my bond with her I refused to ever contemplate giving her anything but the best quality as I didn't want to experience her annoyance and anger at having to consume inferior products – his prices were, to put it gently, exorbitant. Even when considering that we were at the edge of Republic Space readying ourselves to venture into Wild Space and spend time training with the Shapers of Kro Var.

Even with being in my armour as I moved around this station, and Fenrir at my side, it'd taken longer than I'd hoped to get the fuel for Raven and secure supplies. HK and R2 had overseen the delivery, checked everything was as it should, and had Raven test some of the fuel before I'd paid the remainder of the costs to Basso. My caution came from not trusting anyone on this station as far as Anakin could throw them, which was only further enhanced when I'd seen two different security teams take open bribes to not examine cargo entering the station.

As was usual with each location we visited, Anakin had wandered off to explore the docking bays, wanting to see what ships were present. Simvyl was with him today simply because, given the clientele in this backwater, the odds of HK inciting violence were high enough that I didn't want him near my Padawan. That said, given what I'd seen on the station, I suspected Anakin could incite a riot here with the wrong phrase or comment, which was why I'd given him the usual speech of minding his manners unless someone started things.

"Easy there," I said as I reached the exit to Basso's office, my hand going down to pet Fenrir on his head. "He was honest." Fenrir's opinion of the Toydarian had been lower than mine, and the threat of the tuk'ata chasing him around, before ripping him to shreds, had ensured Basso was honest in his dealings with me.

As I stepped through the door, re-entering the chaos of the promenade of the station, and once more being glad of the armour given various smells in the air, I paused. The Force was rippling oddly as if it expected trouble. I took a step toward where Raven was docked, planning to leave the bay and then head around the docking ring externally to collect Anakin and Simvyl. At the same time, I opened the Battlenet to HK and Anakin.

"Query: Yes Master?" the droid replied quickly. However, before I could ask him to ready Raven, the Force shifted, and the feed from Anakin's armour connected to mine. Seeing him and Simvyl standing near a Trandoshan had me growling, my hatred for that race rising at seeing them on the station and close to my family.

"Ready Raven for combat!" I barked as I started running toward where Anakin and Simvyl were, knowing what was about to happen as the Battlenet reported they were being surrounded by nearly two dozen Trandoshans. "Anakin's in trouble!"

The Force came to me, empowering my body and pushing me forward faster than I'd normally be capable of. At my heels, I could sense Fenrir drawing on it as well, keeping pace with me.

"Affirmative: Yes, Master. Good hunting," HK responded, a hint of his disappointment at missing out on battle evident in his vocals.

The moment the channel closed, one of the Trandoshans flanking them from behind opened fire. I snarled in fury as Simvyl pushed Anakin to one side, letting the bolt strike the Trandoshan that had been in front of them. As the beast stumbled back from the friendly fire, Simvyl's blaster spoke. Three bolts raced out, striking the stumbling lizard in its knee and groin.

Furious at the attack, I demanded the Force do more even as Simvyl fired two more bolts at the falling lizard, striking the beast in the face. The Force bent to my desire, and the world around me slowed as I surged forward. Hot power raced through me as the Battlenet reported the first of the walking handbags was dead, the corpse still twitching even as chaos engulfed the location.

Simvyl managed to get Anakin and himself behind some crates, offering cover from the ambushing group of trannies, but I knew it wouldn't last. Once those in the hangar emerged, they'd be badly flanked.

"HEY!" The voice called out as I pushed forward, drawing my attention from the Battlenet. A human in uniform – A member of the corrupt security force – was holding out a hand, demanding I stop. "Stop!" He added, making it clearer even as the other hand moved pathetically slowly toward his sidearm.

As I rushed toward him, my hand rose, and the Force reacted to my wishes. The man, along with the three others with him at the checkpoint, was lifted up. Another step from me, and they were flying back, and by the time I'd taken a further two steps, all of them were down. They'd slammed into each other, a wall, and a large container.

Diluted, pained groans emerged from them as me and Fenrir charged through the destroyed checkpoint, their status already forgotten as the Battlenet continued to feed me details, as my anger and rage threatened to consume the station for allowing those beasts anywhere near my friends, my family.

Reports of Anakin's rising panic came through the Battlenet at the same time I crashed through two beings carrying something. The object exploded in a shower of pieces as my armour shattered it, allowing me to leave the promenade.

The corridors now were narrower, but still full of people, though all of them were slowing, the Force pushing me to speeds that left them little better than statues for me to avoid or destroy as I raced to my target. Fenrir's rage mixed with mine, driving my fury to new heights. When we reached those lizards, he was going to enjoy ripping them to shreds, though not as much as I was.

Simvyl moved slowly as well, the Force not able to enable him to move as quickly as I was. Still, he was fighting well, shifting their location before the lizards in the bay could emerge, his blaster firing rapidly, enabling them to move relatively safely.

Even as I vaulted two green-skinned aliens, I reached out through the Force, calming Anakin. A moment later, his vitals dropped, returning to normal levels and I felt relief flooding from into the Force; that I was coming to help, settled his thoughts.

A moment later, he lifted a vambrace, and the grappling cable in it launched. Before it'd even reached his target, Anakin had detached it from his armour, and as I slid around a corner, I smiled, enjoying the sight of the climbing apparatus first striking one lizard in the arm and then the cable wrapping around it and another beast, causing them to stumble.

Delight surged through me as Simvyl took advantage of that, his blaster singing out to strike the pair, driving them back into another beast. His bolts caught their blasters, rendering them useless for the remainder of the battle.

As the Cathar again pushed Anakin, shifting their location, memories of every encounter I'd had with the aliens he was fighting flowed back into my thoughts. From them trying to steal my glory after my verd'goten, to random encounters in various locations; each time, they were looking to kill me to please their god. Every memory served only to fuel the raging inferno that powered me forward, and demanding that when I reached them, none survived their mistake of attacking my son.

Even with time slowing for those around me, it seemed the message of what was happening was getting through. People were slowly moving, doing their best to give way to the armoured Mandalorian and giant hulking war beast at my heels. Their actions didn't matter though, as where I couldn't find a path around them, the Force ensured they were out of my way.

Simvyl and Anakin reached new cover, though as he slipped behind a barrel, Simvyl took a bolt in the calf. The only thing that soothed my anger from growing further was that it had been a glancing blow, not one that would place him out of the fight or cripple him and that it hadn't been Anakin that'd been struck.

He'd found a blaster and was firing back, though his shots lacked the accuracy of Simvyl's. Still, it was good he was defending himself even if that did nothing to lessen my rage, nor stop the flames inside from growing ever higher as the lizards continued their attacks.

Fenrir's wrath was rising alongside mine, the need to brutalise those attacking his pack, his family mixing with my yearning to eviscerate the shabuire that dared attack our family.

Each bolt that came at them added fuel to the fire, each shot they took bringing me ever-increasing pleasure. The people around me slipped away, their presence nothing more than obstacles to overcome to reach my family, to protect them and destroy those dumb enough to threaten it.

Rounding the final corner that would take me to the section of the docking ring where the battle was taking place, I slid to a stop. "Argh!" I screamed, my fist slamming into the closed door before me. When the metal didn't bend, didn't deform as the Force struck it with my first, I pounded it again, and a third and fourth time.

Seeing just clearly enough through the fog of fury enveloping my thoughts, I understood this was a blast door. For a moment I considered Phasing through the door, however, that was dismissed. I'd not attempted to use that power since truly connecting to the Force. Beyond risking myself in the attempt, I'd be forced to leave Fenrir behind, denying an ally we may need.

I thrust a hand forward, ripping the Force to me and used it to grasp the blast doors. The Force took a moment to respond, as if unwilling to help, and my rage surged, demanding its help. My other hand joined the first, and slowly, after what felt like an eternity, pained groans came from the doors.

Time crawled along as the sounds grew greater until, eventually, the HUD reported the doors shifting; the gears that held them in place straining and failing to resist my demands. Light finally shone through as the thick doors, designed to protect one section of the station from another in the event of a hull breach, slowly pulled back, the metal unable to deny my will.

I kept my focus on the doors, pouring my rage alongside the Force into opening them further, needing a gap large enough for myself and Fenrir to leap through. That helped ease the internal flames, however, they rose to new, previously unobtainable heights as new data came in from the Battlenet.

Anakin was down, the cover he and Simvyl had been using having been shredded by a grenade. His vitals were stable, which was all that enabled me to retain control over what I was doing. Simvyl, however, wasn't as lucky.

Minus the armour, Anakin and I wore, he'd taken shrapnel in several places. The wounds, while not instantly fatal, would need tending to soon or he'd soon be at death's door.

Before my thoughts could turn to losing the Antarian Ranger, Fenrir was moving. The gap between the doors was large enough for him to rush through, and a split-second later, I followed.

As I landed in a roll, the doors slammed closed behind us, and as the roll ended, I pushed myself to my feet, surging forward.

The Battlenet was reporting the Trandoshans were closing on my downed family, and as I neared the corner separating me from the battlefield, they reached the pair.

I tried to keep my thoughts clear, tried to stay rational as I took in the damage that had been wrought on the area. However, the second I saw the first target, the concept of thinking rationally deserted me.

The Battlenet reported the lizards had reached my family, Anakin tossed over the shoulder of one while two more started dragging the wounded Simvyl. The idea that, instead of simply killing them, they planned to take them away, to do Force-knew what with them, drove any remaining hint of restraint from my thoughts.

Rounding the final corner, all worries of what might happen vanished as the first four targets came into sight. Their backs were to me even as I raced toward them, beskad drawn and shoto lightsaber ignited.

The one closest to me started to turn, drawn by the sounds of my boots crashing against the floor. The others followed as Fenrir roared and leapt.

Blades sliced out, burning and cutting through flesh; steam rose, and blood boiled as plasma slid through meat like a hot knife through butter.

The sounds of pained grunts and screams, the last cut off as Fenrir clamped his mighty jaws down on his target, sent pleasure surging through me. Yet, those I'd just rushed past weren't my target.

Further ahead, at the entrance to the bay, I saw my targets. Three lizards dragging and carrying my family.

They and the others turned at the sounds, blasters raising to engage, even as Fenrir howled in delight.

Simvyl stirred, claws flashing out and slashing at his captors.

Anakin squirmed, driving an elbow into the face of his abductor, making the beast stumble.

I slid to one side, avoiding the first, frantic bolts toward me; my lightsaber flicking out and slapping back the pathetic attempts to harm me.

Simvyl slid free of his captors after striking one in the groin. The one carrying Anakin reached the ramp to their ship.

My blades swooped out, slashing through meat, carving me a path toward the vessel. Toward my son.

Twenty steps became ten.

The Force tried to do something, but my focus was on my target.

At five steps something crashed into my knee: knocking me to the side.

I turned as I fell, bringing my blade down; though only the hilt crashed into the scaly skull of the dumb lizard who'd tackled me.

I grunted as my side smashed into a crate, shattering it, and sending debris everywhere.

I twisted as I struck the ground, bringing my beskad around, driving the blade through the skull of the beast who'd dared touch me. The blade sent blood splattering from its mouth and jaw as the tip emerged, before striking the creature's chest.

Rolling as I bounced off the deck, I controlled my landing, ensuring I was ready to move as I stopped skidding over the floor.

Flares of fury rose as the HUD reported engines igniting, those flames rising higher as I realised it was the ship Anakin had been taken onto.

I stepped forward, ready to charge the ramp only to see it'd closed. The vessel now rising slowly from the deck.

Voices whispered to me, telling me I was about to lose Anakin. That there was nothing I could do. Not unless I used their advice.

My free hand thrust out my hand curling into a claw, calling the Force to my aid.

It was slow to react, causing my anger to rise further, generating flickers of black energy that danced between my fingertips.

Around me, those beasts not yet on a vessel yet still alive froze as that energy raced from my palm, slamming into the airborne vessel.

The ship shuddered, encouraging me and having the whispered promises of what I'd do to those who hurt my family grow louder.

Sparks cascaded over the hull, smoke rising from the engine that bore the brunt of my attack, yet the vessel continued to move away.

My other came up, lightsaber depowering as it fell from my grasp, and sent more tendrils of black energy slamming into the ship.

That ship wasn't leaving, not while the Force did as I commanded.

Smoke turned to fire before the engine exploded. The ship dropped, the hull scraping against the station's walls. The other two engines burned brighter, taking up the strain even as I directed my fury against them.

Suddenly, the Force shifted. The voices warned me of a nuisance.

I turned, wanting to burn whatever threat was nearing. The walls of the bay screeched, brunt, and ignited as Force energy left a jarring scar along them.

Before I could bring my fury to bear on whatever foul beast dared attack me, the creature crashed into my side, knocking me back.

As the black energy flickered away, sparing the escaping vessel from my fury, I turned my focus to whatever soon-to-be-dead creature had stopped my attack; and stopped me from saving Anakin.

Claws slashed at my armour, pathetically attempting to hurt me, which only served to further enrage me as I was knocked over.

As my back struck the ground, my fists slammed into the beast's skull, dark energy flickering around the gauntlets while the Force pushed my strength to insane levels.

The creature's skull caved in, unable to take the power of my blows. The claws fell limply against my armour.

One fist struck the animal again, driving it from my body and sending it tumbling away; green liquid marking the path the corpse took.

Standing quickly, I lifted my hands toward the scrapping vessel.

The blood on my gauntlets burned away as black energy surged from them, reaching out toward their target; needing to shatter the pathetic frame of the cage that held my son.

Time slowed as I pushed everything into my attack, as the Force made everything else around me unable to move, unable to challenge my power.

Yet, just as my fury threatened to overwhelm its prey, the energy splashed away, striking an invisible barrier.

I screamed into the Force, enraged that the station was denying me my prey. That it was allowing those animals to escape with my son.

I turned, ready to lash out at the station, to shatter it so I could resume my attack to free Anakin, only for a groan to reach my lips.

A downed lizard was nearby, part of its face badly burnt by blaster fire, the voices begged me to destroy it, to remind others why they were all beneath me.

With a new focus, I thrust out a hand, black energy slamming into the beast and cooking it alive even as it screamed in pain.

The Force warned of an attack, the HUD directing me to the object moving patiently slowly through the air.

A flick of my hand, and the object changed direction, hurtling back toward its source.

Turning back to my true prey, the voices whispered for me to destroy everything. I resisted them, my attention only on saving my family.

Another roar escaped me, one that drove back everything nearby.

In the time I'd been distracted, the vessel had slipped from view.

I turned, my boot denting the deck as I stalked towards a nearby living target.

It lay on the ground, one hand clasped pathetically over the other shoulder, trying vainly to remove the blade embedded past the hilt there.

Green blood flowed from the wound, soaking the deck, which delighted me.

My boot slammed into its chest and pinned it to the ground. "Where are they heading?" I demanded, pulling the shoto to my hand and igniting it.

The beast muttered something so quiet, that the armour couldn't pick it up. Blood flowed from its mouth.

Infuriated at the lack of help, I lifted my foot and then drove it down again, the Force doing as I demanded to strengthen the blow.

The chest of the beast crashed and cracked inward; blood, bone and sinew were sent flying as I destroyed its body.

Twisting my heel, ensuring the pathetic creature was ground beneath me, I turned, searching for another source of information.

A familiar snarl drew my attention, my anger easing slightly as I saw Fenrir standing watch over Simvyl.

The Cathar was wounded; the HUD reported four blaster burns and a dozen cuts, all of which were bleeding.

Regaining my focus, I rushed toward him, his eyes drawn to the squelching of my boot as I neared.

Knowing his condition before I reached him, I pulled bacta patches from my belt as I slid to a halt at his side.

Inside rage burnt at his failure to protect Anakin, and those hushed voices returned, demanding I punish Simvyl for the failure. I pushed those away, knowing he couldn't have done much better against the odds he faced, and that, once healed, he'd join me in hunting those responsible down and rewarding them for their choices.

"S-sorry," he murmured as I placed the first patch against his calf, easing the pain from the initial wound. At the same time, the HUD worked to determine which wounds needed bacta and which didn't. While the cuts from claws shouldn't need much to heal, I'd still want him to clean them. You never knew what those lizards carried.

"You did what you could." My tone was cold and business-like as I worked to restrain my anger. He wasn't the cause nor target of it and didn't need to endure it. "Fenrir, stay," I said as I stood a moment later, patches now covering the more serious wounds while others rested beside the Cathar so he could apply them himself.

Fenrir growled, not liking the order, but obeyed as I turned, moving toward the exit from the bay. I had to get to Anakin, which meant getting to Raven first.

I opened the Battlenet, wanting to determine the quickest route to my vessel, even considering Teleporting there to expedite matters. I was cautious about doing so, but it would be the fastest way to reach Raven. Or it would've if she was still in her bay.

"Query: Has the battle finished Master?" HK asked as I turned, looking to where my target had fled and seeing the wonderful, incredible sight of Raven entering.

"H… She let you fly her?" I asked the droid, trying to work out how Raven had gotten here without me at the controls. While she could stomach others watching her while we travelled through hyperspace, that was the extent of her leash for allowing anyone but me to be in command.

"Answer: No, Master. The vessel is still reluctant to allow me to take the helm." I bit back an unwelcome – purely because of timing – burst of amusement at HK's answer. "Explanation: The ship chose to fly herself here. It seems it understood the severity of the situation. Addendum: If I had been ten-point-three-two seconds slower she would have departed without me."

"Huh."

Any response beyond that didn't come as I watched Raven guide herself into the bay. She turned over the spot where Anakin's captors had fled from and without even landing, began to lower her ramp as I approached.

Pausing as I reached the ramp, I turned, seeing that Simvyl had stood and was using Fenrir as a crutch.

"Wha!" Simvyl panicked for a moment as he was lifted from the deck, several of the bacta patches slipping from his grasp as it frantically flailed to recover.

"Relax," I said as I pulled my hand to my chest, dragging the floating Cathar to me.

"I…, thanks," he said softly as I lowered him onto the ramp. It wasn't touching the deck as Raven wasn't landing, so I'd had to lift him to speed things up.

"You're welcome. Fenrir," I said as the tuk'ata reached my side, "escort him to the medibay and then wait."

The tuk'ata leapt onto the ramp and gently pushed the Cathar deeper into Raven. Once the path was clear, I leapt up, the ramp beginning to close as soon as my boots touched the deck.

"Good girl," I said, running my fingertips over her skin.

The lights around me flickered, Raven happy to have me back onboard mixed with fear for Anakin, and a moment later I was running through her corridors.

"Statement: The ship is ready for departure, Master," HK offered as I entered the cockpit. "Shields and missiles are ready."

"Good." I slid into my chair, the seat sliding to partially encompass me, and strengthening my bond to Raven even as she eased herself out of the bay.

"Query: Who has taken the young builder, Master?"

"Trandoshans." The word came out in a growl, one enhanced by the armour giving it a deeper, more metallic sound.

The communication channel was bleeping, demanding attention. That was either the station's dockmaster or possibly even security as the HUD had detected some arriving just as we left. Regardless, they could fuck off as I had other things to deal with, and if I saw security I'd struggle to contain my rage at them letting those beasts onto the station in the first place.

"Observation: It has been some time since I've hunted them, Master. Loading tactical subsets and tactics for the species."

"Once we've got Anakin back, you've got free reign," I said as my hands closed around Raven's controls. While the armour dulled the connection, it still brought me comfort to be back here.

"Exclamation: How exciting, Master. I look forward to demonstrating my skill."

I didn't reply to his comment, instead focusing on the system we were in. Raven's sensors were scanning every nearby vessel while I was pushing out into the Force. Thousands of vessels were moving around, as while this was a minor system in Republic terms, it had a population of over a billion.

Closing my eyes, I dove into the Force, Raven at my side. Reaching outward, it didn't take long to find Anakin's presence. While he hid it from others, with the bond we shared, finding it was as simple as finding fresh water while standing next to a mountain stream. "There."

Raven turned before I even moved the controls, vectoring toward our prey. We cut across the nose of a transport three- or four-times Raven's size, letting us see the panicked reaction of the pilot as we skimmed the other vessel's hull.

Emerging around the transport, Raven pulled up our target; the smoke trailing from the destroyed engine made it easy to find. "Thank you," I said to Raven, letting her know how grateful I was for her actions and response to my needs. In response, extra power poured into her thrusters, pushing us toward our prey.

Raven ducked, dove, and slid past any vessel that crossed our path, her intent toward the lizard's ship clear to all. It didn't take them long to realise we were hunting them, and it pushed forward faster, though, with one of their sublight engines destroyed, they had no hope of escaping us.

"Target engines only," I ordered as we cleared the last vessel between us and the beasts who'd taken my son.

As the missile racks locked on, Raven alerted me to a half-dozen ships closing on us from behind. They were coming from two vectors, and given their shared markings and size, it was clear they were station or system patrol craft. None would reach us before we engaged the lizards, but I wasn't taking the chance they'd try and stop us boarding.

"This is Jedi Knight Cameron Shan," I said into the comm channel Raven opened with the closest patrol craft. "The vessel we're bearing down upon is crewed by Trandoshans who've kidnapped my s… my Padawan. Stay back or I will consider you hostile."

I closed the channel after sending my threat, not concerned about how they might respond. This close locking onto Anakin's emotions was easy. Given how dull they felt, I suspected the lizards had stunned him to avoid him causing a problem. That meant they'd likely removed his armour as it would block all but the strongest – and those most dangerous – stun devices. Since Anakin didn't have a Padawan braid, or at least I'd not insisted he tie one into his hair while we were leaning into my status as Mando'ade, the lizards shouldn't know they'd captured a Force user, which meant they wouldn't have secured him properly.

Still, the fact they'd laid hands upon my son, never mind hurt him, meant the whispers were back. They made clear the lizards deserved to pay, preferably slowly and painfully, for their actions, and while I was struggling to not give in to those suggestions, I was rejecting them for now. The reason for that wasn't some attempt to remain honourable, but because I was sensing others nearby Anakin. Given their presences were frightened and chaotic, I suspected the beast who'd captured them, were either slavers or enjoyed hunting children. Once those children were, along with Anakin, safe, then HK would have free reign; so much so that I'd be willing to watch how he dealt with the creatures, perhaps even insisting he ensure their deaths were slow and painful.

A desire to send those walking boots to meet their gods embarrassed and defeated rushed through me as we neared range for the missiles. It would be a fitting reward for them and their false idol.

Four missiles streaked away from under Raven's wings, the launchers having reached maximum range. I watched the surge forward, bearing down on their target, ready to stop my prey in its tracks and leave them weak and ripe for extermination.

"NO!" I screamed as, just before the missiles struck, the target jumped to hyperspace. I pushed back, the urge to lash out only tempered by knowledge I couldn't, wouldn't hurt Raven in my fury. "Kriff! Kriff! Kriff!" I roared, clenching my fists so that I swore I heard the beskar groan in protest.

"Statement: Plotting flight vector and determining routes to Trandosha or known pirate havens."

After taking a deep breath, promising to find Anakin and butcher every lizard near him, if not in the entire galaxy, I leaned forward. "I sensed others on the vessel. They might be gathering children for hunts."

"Amendment: Altering search patterns for worlds that are remotely inhabited and similar to Trandoshan homeworld. Addendum: Factoring in closeness to nearby systems with strong security forces or Republic influence. Assessment: Primary list of locations will be available in ten-point-three-two minutes. However, it will take another sixteen-point-seven-three minutes to prepare rankings based on probability of use."

I growled, angered at my failing to protect Anakin. It wasn't that I'd lost him that rankled though, it was that instead of the Jedi or Banite Sith taking my Padawan, son, and the Force-damned Chosen One, it was a group of shabuire walking handbags. I'd never liked Trandoshans, but in that moment, they might be the single thing I hated most in the galaxy. Beyond even my fury toward Vosa about what she'd put me through. Haran, even the Vong had more honour than those overgrown, self-indulgent lizards.

The rage to head to Trandosha and burn it to ash, to turn every monument to the Scorekeeper to glass and soak them in the blood of his failed worshippers surged through me, burning like a beacon of pure, unrestrained hatred within the Force. I wasn't sure how long I sat there, breathing deeply, pushing what anger I could into the Force and bottling the rest deep down inside, but eventually, I recovered enough that images of the multitude of ways I could butcher and skin Trandoshans slipped from the forefront of my thoughts.

The communication console was beeping incessantly, system security and defence no doubt frantically trying to reach me. Looking at it, I considered ignoring the hails and jumping after the lizards, but without knowledge of where they might head, there was little point. Raven would overshoot them with ease, and then I'd have no way to know where to go.

Perhaps, I realised, it was better to speak with the station's commander. They should have records of the Trandoshans' vessel, including, hopefully, details of where it'd come from. If not, then there were some Trandoshans who had survived the battle in the bay. I was sure they'd be more than willing to tell me where they'd come from, and where their companions had fled. If not, then HK would be more than capable of extracting any relevant data from them before they were exterminated like the vermin they were.

… …

… …
"Query: Was your discussion productive, Master?"

I bit back a growl as I entered the bay where Raven was docked and saw HK waiting for me at the base of Raven's ramp. "No, HK, it wasn't," I replied slowly, trying to keep my emotions in check. "Kriffing waste of time that was."

Ever since the Trandoshans had jumped away with Anakin, I'd been walking a knife-edge between rushing off in the vain hope we might find them quickly and lashing out at anyone who wasn't helpful. Given I'd spent the last hour with the station's commander and head of security, after being escorted to the meeting by two dozen security personnel, the latter option had felt more likely.

The pair had, even after I confirmed I was a Jedi and provided recordings that confirmed the Trandoshans shot first, spent more time trying to pressure me over my actions than the firefight and kidnapping that had taken place on their station. They'd even had the audacity to demand I pay the medical bills for the security team I'd taken out while rushing to help Anakin and Simvyl.

I'd told them where they could shove that idea and then insisted the matter was now Jedi business. I'd asked nicely for their files and recordings for today and the Trandoshans' vessels and actions, but neither had been cooperative. They'd not wanted to do so, and even reminding them that their system was a member of the Republic, and as a member of the Jedi, with a personal connection to the Chancellor – which they discovered when they searched the Holonet for my information – they'd been reluctant to grant me what I'd asked for.

After that, they'd reluctantly agreed to hand over the files, but they weren't letting me speak with the three surviving Trandoshans; insisting that the trio would be tried under local law and not the whims of the Jedi. The pair had a clear distaste for the Order, and while I didn't care about that, the fact they were throwing it bluntly into my face hadn't done much for my already sour mood. At least once a minute I'd considered simply grasping the pair with the Force and persuading them to be more cooperative. I'd resisted the urge but only just, and even now, with the meeting over, the idea still held appeal. As did ripping this station apart bulkhead by bulkhead until nothing remained.

"Query: Would you like me to speak with them?"

I smiled tightly as the various security personnel nearby tensed at the question, mainly as HK, as always, was armed. That said, the only weapon security could see was the one HK was carrying, the others were built-in or hidden, scanners unable to detect them due to additional features HK had insisted were added to the body when I'd had it commissioned.

"No, that won't be necessary," I answered, holding up a datapad. The station's commander and security chief had, after the hour-long meeting, finally agreed to hand over all files for today's events. They'd insisted that there were no copies, but I had my doubts and had sent instructions to R2 and HK during the meeting to ensure it was the only copy. "How did you spend your time?" I asked, moving through the command centre, and ignoring the peons who worked for the di'kute in the office behind me.

"Statement: While not as fruitful as I might have liked, it wasn't entirely wasted." We stepped into the lift at that, though HK remained quiet until the doors sealed and we began our descent. "Continuation:" HK resumed, using the Battlenet to take the discussion private. "The meatbags were unwilling to allow me to speak with those responsible for the young builder's abduction, Master. Speculation: I believe they feared I might end the functions of the beasts in their care."

"I'd have enjoyed it if you had."

"Assurance: I would have only exterminated the Trandoshans after I was sure they served no further purpose, Master. Disclosure: As I was unable to speak with the targets, while we waited I accessed the security systems as you requested. Observation: Their protection was pathetically weak, even for a system designed by meatbags."

"The files are erased?"

"Answer: Not entirely, Master. The files were being observed and copied when your request came in."

"Haran!"

"Assurance: While I wasn't able to immediately scrub the files in question, Master, I can assure you I was successful in my assignment. Explanation: Once the copy was created for you, I dispatched a program that would attach to every file in the system and erase the network. As I accessed their system from inside their command centre, they are unlikely to locate the issue before the program activates in thirty-four-point-two-six minutes."

"Heh." I laughed softly inside the armour even as the lift reached our floor. Stepping forward, I saw those in the room, which was the same security unit that had escorted me here, tense. They might have their hands on their weapons, as did others in the room, and several turrets turned to track our movement, but none of them were a threat. Already the HUD had determined the order to remove them, and I could feel the Force readying itself if I might decide to cleanse the room.

Taking a step forward, the team tensed further and moved toward me, only to pause when I raised my hand. "Don't," I said, activating the external speakers in my armour and shaking my head in disgust. "Just don't."

"Our orders…"

"Are rescinded," I cut off the squad's leader. "Unless you wish to join your comrades in the medibay, or the Trandoshans in the morgue."

"Musing: Perhaps they should, Master. I sense you could do with 'blowing off some steam' as meatbags like to say."

"Fair, but the sooner I leave this cesspit, the better," I replied, walking past the squad leader, pushing him from my path as I moved. "Plus, getting blood off the boots is a pain I'd rather avoid."

"Observation: That is why I prefer to terminate targets at a distance, Master. Or to use a disruptor." I ignored that he'd just suggested he had access to a weapon that was outlawed in the Republic. Even if we were in the Core, you'd find people with such weapons, the trick was to ensure they were modified to look like a more common blaster rifle. "Confession: I do, however, admit something is pleasing about standing over a meatbag as their life leaves their eyes."

A strained laugh forced its way out at the remark, the HUD showing those in the room growing even more tense. At least those who weren't used to dealing with mercenaries and warriors. The more experienced security personnel seemed to understand there was no threat in HK's words and made sure to ease the nerves of their less decorated colleagues.

Once we exited the security station, I returned our conversation to internal chatter. "Where are the lizards located?"

"Disclosure: It is of no importance, Master. To ensure they don't reveal what they saw I have inserted a small alteration into the systems monitoring their cells. Oxygen levels are slowly decreasing to levels they cannot tolerate, and the alarms for the cells won't sound until long after the meatbags have expired."

"Acceptable."

From there we walked in silence, which allowed me to turn my thoughts to my actions. I didn't regret drawing on the Force how I'd done or my actions during the battle. I'd done so to help others. Yet I knew I had to be careful. With my powers and connection to the Force unstable and unbalanced because of Natural Selection, and with me already more inclined to draw on the Force in ways the Jedi wouldn't approve of, I was at risk of losing myself in the Dark Side.

I'd not done so today, but there had been moments when, in the heat of battle, I'd come close, just as I had on other occasions. While I'd hunt and kill every Trandoshan that was involved in Anakin's kidnapping, and would do the same if others such as Bo or Serra were in danger, I had to be cautious that I didn't go too far, that I didn't enjoy my actions too much. That path led to me being consumed by the Dark Side and becoming nothing more than a beast that had to be put down. Against the lizards, even losing control like that shouldn't cost me, but against the real threats that awaited me – both those known and unknown as I felt there were more dangers in the galaxy than just what I was aware of – such behaviour would result in my quick and pathetic death.

I opened a channel through the Battlenet, wanting to alert Simvyl that we were returning only for the words to die in my throat. Stumbling to one side, I placed a hand on the nearest wall to steady myself as I felt a familiar presence reach out through the Force.

"Anakin," I muttered as I reached back, wanting to let him know I was there for him.

We were far too far apart for any form of communication to take place, not least as I'd yet to open myself fully to allow such discussions. However, I could sense enough that my worst fears receded into the depths of my mind. Anakin was awake now, and while panicked and scared, he wasn't in danger. At least not currently. The burst of emotions from him, even at this distance and with my connection to the Force limited by choice, was still enough to unbalance me, hence the stumble. Still, I knew he was as well as he could be.

Closing my eyes, I pushed open my connection to the Force, focusing entirely on the bond I shared with my son. I had enough understanding, thanks to my training with Fay and Dooku, to know how to lock onto the bond I shared with Anakin and send feelings along it.

Around me, the minds of those on the station became clearer, and the myriad of voices threatened to overwhelm me. Their desires, needs, wants, and every other random, meaningless idea and concept that consumed the thoughts of lesser beings crashed around me, threatening to bury me in a tsunami of insanity. I threw up barriers, drawing on my lessons, and kept the symphony of chaos back. All that mattered was Anakin, and reaching his mind, even, if possible getting a sense of where he was and who was with him.

It took a moment, as I was pushing through the Force over hundreds, if not thousands, of lightyears before I locked onto Anakin. Once that was done, I sent a burst of reassurance to him. He'd know I'd be coming for him, but I needed him to understand that it wasn't going to be instant.

His response was one of relief as if he feared I'd fallen to the lizards that had taken him, or that, like Shmi, I might've abandoned him. The fear I'd sensed in his initial outburst had settled, though not gone entirely. Given his current situation, that was understandable, I just had to hope he didn't latch onto that for support. Not because I didn't want him using the Force in the same ways I'd done when trying to save him, but because I feared that, with him being young, and his mind still maturing, he'd not be able to control himself and never recover from what he might do if he answered the offers the whispers of the Dark Side provided.

Pushing myself off the wall, I realised HK was standing nearby, keeping guard while those around us swerved away, unwilling to pass close to a Mandalorian and armed droid. "Hold on An'ika," I whispered to myself as I resumed walking with renewed vigour.

Somewhere out there, Anakin was in trouble, and if I had to rip apart the galaxy to find and save him, I would.

… …

… …
I watched as the stars swirled around us as we travelled faster than light, putting the station and the soon-to-be dead lizards behind us. The first of the possible worlds had been inputted into the navigational computer and Raven was pushing herself forward, the engines exceeding their standard limits as we soared through the undulating eddies of hyperspace.

"You've got the conn," I said to Simvyl as I stood and made my way out of the cockpit cape swirling around me. There was no need to have him alert me if something happened, as Raven would do that naturally. The Cathar was still wounded, with a few bacta patches still visible under his clothing, but he'd insisted on working. I didn't need the Force or Observe to know he blamed himself for Anakin's abduction, and while there was still some anger toward his part in events, I'd forgiven him.

Anakin had taunted the Trandoshan after it had spoken to him, and while that wasn't the smartest choice, I'd have done the same or worse in the boy's place. The difference was that if something had happened with me there instead of Anakin and Simvyl, then there'd not have been any lizards walking away from the battle. Force, if HK had been with me then the decks would be repainted with blood by the time we finished.

As I emerged into the central area, Fenrir lifted his head. Unlike most times that I passed through the area, he wasn't lazing around on the main sofa, instead, he was stalking back and forth; agitation and anger radiating from him. Anakin being gone meant a member of our pack, our family was missing, and while his bond to the boy wasn't as strong as mine, he still shared a connection with him.

In one corner of the area, waiting to be disposed of, was a pile of bones that had formerly been the leg of a Trandoshan. The tuk'ata had dragged it onboard after we'd returned to the station, taking over the scene of the crime. Several members of the security force investigative services weren't happy with him removing evidence, but if they'd wanted the leg back, they could've tried to take it.

If he'd done that before Naboo I might've had issues, but not long after I'd purchased a trio of cleaning droids and tasked R2 with keeping the trio in line. So far, there'd not been any issues, though it seemed Fenrir was unwilling to let them collect the bones as, while I was moving through the area, one droid entered, only to scuttle away after Fenrir growled at it.

As I exited the central area, Fenrir fell into step behind me. Normally with what I was about to do, I'd not have him present, but I'd allow it for today. We were both on edge and having him nearby for what I wanted to do might allow me to retain my centre.

I slipped into my quarters quickly, the doors taking longer to close because of the tuk'ata. As he settled down in his usual position – one that allowed him to attack anyone coming in the door – I moved to my desk. Once there, I reached into my Inventory and removed Adas' holocron. As I'd been using it more heavily since Naboo, I kept it separated from the other holocrons in my Inventory, though I wasn't stupid enough to leave it in my quarters. While Anakin knew not to enter without permission, the holocron generated a presence in the Force that I suspected even Simvyl felt. The longer I could go without anyone knowing exactly what I was up to, the safer it would be for us all.

I closed my eyes and reached into the Force, easily finding the cold, reserved, but dangerous presence that signified the holocron of the ancient Sith King.

"And wha…" Adas' words trailed off as the projected image stared at me. "What exactly has happened?" He asked, changing tack which made clear he could see the conflict in me over what I'd done, and how I'd drawn upon the Dark Side in my attempt to save Anakin.

I took a breath, readying myself for reliving the battle, and the sight of the vessel that had taken my son away. "There was an incident on a station we've just left," I said slowly, watching my tone and emotions. The holocron would be sensing them, but I'd prefer not to be too clear about how close I'd come to losing myself. "Anakin, my Padawan, my son, was taken by Trandoshans," I couldn't stop the burst of fury that surged through me at the mention of that race. "I've sensed him through the Force, and know he's alive but… I don't know where he is or where those beings are taking him."

Adas remained silent after my confession, though I could feel the holocron probing me through the Force. "Hmm. While I know little of the species, bar what previous holders of this holocron and you have told me, based on that data, I would assume that they intend to take your apprentice to one of their hunting worlds. However, I know nothing of where such worlds might be located, though I may have a method for how to locate your apprentice. That said, I don't believe that is your primary reason for speaking to me."

I suspected his idea for locating Anakin would involve reaching into the Force, and it was something that I'd considered ever since we'd left the station. However, due to how I was recovering from the battle, and the maelstrom of emotions swirling within me, I was reluctant to do so, which was why I'd sought out the holocron once we'd entered hyperspace. "My Padawan and Simvyl were elsewhere on the station when they were attacked. When it happened, when I sensed Anakin's fear and panic, I almost lost control. I knew I couldn't reach him easily, not with how my Force connection wasn't the same as it once was. At that moment, with no choice, I drew upon the Dark Side and let it guide and shape my choices."

"Do you regret the decision?" the holocron asked slowly, no doubt taking stock of my words, feelings, and presence within the Force.

"No." I blinked, surprised at how quick my response had been. I knew I'd not regretted the choice, but ever since there'd been lingering doubt about if I'd made the right choice. That my answer came so quickly, and without a hint of remorse, was unexpected. "I mean, I don't regret using the Force as I did to try and save Anakin. It's just that, in doing so, in giving in to the offers of power from the Dark Side, I lost myself in them. By the time I regained control of myself, my actions, and the Force, it was too late, and Anakin was gone; lost."

"As much as it might shock you to hear, your mistake wasn't that you took back control, nor that you listened to the veiled false promises that came, not from the Force but from deep within yourself, but that you fought over the choice. That you fought against what you are, and what you were doing." My head tilted to one side, wondering where he was going with this. "The Dark Side isn't, as the Jedi believe, some corrupted section of the Force in which one loses themselves because of their emotions. It is the true source of the abilities the Force grants us, though to fully use and appreciate it, one must learn to take command of it and oneself. However, to wield the power the Force provides, without being consumed by it, one must make a choice."

"Jedi or Sith."

"Yes. And no." Adas chuckled, likely because of the confused look that flashed across my face. "To them, the choice is between Light and Dark, between right and wrong. Between letting the Force guide them, or using its power to shape the universe around you. The universe, as you have well discovered, isn't a simple case of two sides to every choice, it is instead a symphony of, as much as I loathe the term, grey. The Force, as it flows and binds everything in the universe together, is likewise not something that can be simply categorized into two clear and distinct spheres of influence and choice."

"Then what is it?" This wasn't where I'd expected the conversation to go, but it was interesting and was helping ease my mind.

"Tell me, in your own words, how would you, using the teachings of the Jedi, describe the Force?"

I leaned back, thinking about every lesson that I'd had on the nature of the Force. Most of those had come from Fay, though Dooku and others had weighed in from time to time. While none had used simple metaphors to describe the Force, as it wasn't something that could be easily distilled into such a thing, as I looked over the memories, I saw a common, recurring pattern develop. One that, when applied to a way to define the Force, brought forth a simple but detailed once you examined it closer, concept.

"The Force is a river, one that flows with a will of its own – as any river does – and cares little for those on its banks or within it. We, as beings able to draw upon and sense the Force, are the rare few who exist within the river. Those that cannot rest along the banks, able to see the river, but not understand what lies beneath, where the true power and nature of the Force resides. While we travel in the flow, we meet others as our paths cross. For some, the eddies of the water allow only the briefest of contacts, for others, the paths come close to being permanently intertwined. The Jedi teach that, when those paths pull apart, or disappear altogether, we must accept it, and go with the flow. The river, the Force, is the one that defines our path – our destiny – not us. We must release our feelings, and our opinions into the river and accept that no matter what apparent harm and devastation it brings, it has a path that will lead to where we would wish to reside."

"Hmm." Adas lifted a hand to his skull and tapped the base of his helm. "A far more opinioned and detailed answer than I would've expected for one raised by the Jedi. At least if I wasn't already acquainted with you." There was little in his calm, measured tone to suggest he disagreed with my description, but underneath that, I could sense hints of contempt for the ideals I brought forth. "The question is, do you, with all that you've seen, experienced, and done, believe, truly believe, that this is what the Force is?"

I took my time before answering, delving into my thoughts and feelings on the matter. "No," I eventually replied, "not entirely. I mean, the description makes sense, but it feels as if I'm missing something."

Adas chuckled. "That, my young apprentice, is why, when you've drawn upon the Force when you've taken command of it and made it do as you wish, you lose yourself within its power. You are working from a flawed perspective, and fighting instinctively against what you perceive as dangerous because your understanding is lacking. Your training, however ineffectual it was, as a Jedi makes it hard for you to delve into the river, to see and experience what lies at its base, and understand that, while an incredible power, with desires of its own, the Force isn't always right. Blind faith within it, and where it is carrying you, leaves you unable to push the water, to shape the Force as you need and desire."

My mouth opened, readying to challenge him about the dangers of the Dark Side, yet no words emerged. While I didn't entirely buy what he was saying, any argument I might bring forth would have ready counters. I might, as much as I was worried by the idea at times, know that the Jedi path – be that the one followed by Fay, or that followed by the Order in general – wasn't the perfect one for me, but I wasn't here to argue over the merits of the Jedi or Sith philosophy. "Then," I began, having pushed my arguments to one side, "how would you describe the Force?"

I might not have been able to see his face, but I knew Adas was smiling. "Using your analogy of the Force as a river, what would be its final destination?"

"To a sea…"

"Or an ocean," Adas finished, which made me nod. "To keep with this comparison, then what the Jedi perceive and believe is a river that we all must travel down as the Force guides us is, to be polite, incomplete. A river cannot exist by itself, it is part of a cycle, and in the end, the river must end by entering the larger and dangerous entity of an ocean. The breadth and depth of this ocean is beyond the scope of any mortal to define and understand."

"Then the Sith are as wrong about the Force as the Jedi?"

"In some ways, yes," Adas replied with a chuckle. "The difference is that while the Jedi allow the currents to guide them down their river, they never understand that the ocean of the Force awaits to consume them for their false beliefs and what lies in its depths. They don't understand the Force and place their faith in it. That, as with any force of nature, is a deeply flawed approach. Weather has no care for the creatures that inhabit its ecosystem; it only concerns itself, if it is concerned with anything, with the various patterns and systems it has control over.

"Many who claim to be Sith believe that to have the power they desire, they must dominate the ocean; bend it entirely to their will. That too is a fallacy, and often leads to those who attempt domination over the entirety of the Force to be driven mad." He paused, making sure I was listening intently. I was, as was Fenrir who'd moved closer as Adas had spoken. "The other issue, and one I suspect you might fall for, is to believe that it is possible to use both ideals, of allowing the Force to blindly guide you but then assuming control when the destination or situation isn't to your liking. That path leads to madness, and few if any beings can survive such a battle; one fought between themselves, their ideals, and the Force."

"Then no matter what we do, we are doomed to fail?"

"Again, yes and no," Adas said, and I swore he was looking at me as if I was a child. "One cannot trust the Force to guide them, nor believe they can dominate the entirely of it. Both those paths, and that of trying to do both, are false routes, designed to trap and control the weaker-minded fools. Those incapable of understanding the truth, accepting it, and then adapting to it.

"What one must do, if one wishes to survive the Force, is to understand that we have the power to alter, in some ways, the environment around us, without attempting to go too far, to do too much, or making no effort to affect our surroundings. Bend, shape, and direct the ocean's currents around you, as best you can; channel them to what you need. The Force will accept this, as in the grand scheme, your actions, if done so alone, have no meaningful effect on the overall ocean."

As metaphors went, Adas' one wasn't the worst I'd heard. Yes, he was, as expected, pushing for a darker path than I was taking, but he wasn't promising the impossible. Nor was he suggesting I could have everything I wanted simply by dominating the Force around me. Going over the previous discussions we'd had, it was clear this idea worked better with his previous words than what I'd suspected. Those thoughts had, I could see now, been shaped by the Jedi and my preconceptions, about the Dark Side and the Sith.

If I understood his suggestion, his teaching, then to save Anakin, I would have to assume control of the Force around me and him, and use that to alter the flow of the water – the flow of the Force – enough that we'd once more be together. That made sense. However, another concept, one linked intrinsically to Anakin, came to mind.

"What of fate and destiny?"

Anakin was brought forth by the Force – possibly by Plagueis and Sidious attempting to assume control over the entirety of the Force – and thus was critical to whatever the Force considered as balance. My emergence in this universe, and the Force's eventual acceptance and adaptation to me, meant I also was important, but I still believed my role was less critical than the one my son had.

While I'd had hints of the Force adapting to my presence, to shifting its currents, it was only on Naboo that I understood that fully. The death of Master Drallig in place of Qui-Gon was a clear one. While it was only a theory, I suspected the Force had hoped for Qui-Gon to teach Anakin, or at least considered it one of two ways he could go – the other being to eventually kneel before Sidious. In coming here, I'd presented another option, one I had deeply believed, was the Force's favoured choice.

Thus, with Qui-Gon's role in determining Anakin's path to the Force's goal abandoned, he lost importance to the currents. Drallig, due to his closeness to Serra – who flowed beside me in the ocean – had been positioned to ease the overall path of the Force in our vicinity instead. That idea wouldn't ever bring comfort to Serra, but it did ease some of my guilt over Drallig's death.

"Fate is a tricky thing," Adas responded, bringing my attention back to him. "As much as many Dark Siders might wish to deny it, the Force has a path it wishes to take, and no number of actions taken by us can change the destination. We can, with skill, training, and power, alter the exact route taken to this destination, but we cannot divert the Force from its course. Attempting to alter the course and destination will see the Force react and counter the move of the one trying to subvert its intentions: be they Sith, Jedi, or any other who can call upon the Force.

"Now, the path the Force has taken, and the events that brings forth, often don't align with the desires of those of us able to swim in her depths. The Jedi preach that we should simply allow these events to occur, that there is nothing we can do to alter them, nor should we attempt to." My thoughts bounced to Qui-Gon and Drallig there. "A False Sith might attempt to bend the entirety of the Force to their wishes to alter the event. Again, a flawed and foolish choice. A True Sith, can with effort, desire, and power – something both you and your apprentice possess – alter that path enough that events occur in different ways. Often those changes are for our benefit, but not always. That is a sign we must understand, and however much it enrages us, accept. We can use the Force, we can shape its path, but we cannot ever hope to subsume its will, nor alter the course of something we will never truly comprehend."

Adas paused and I sat back in my chair, letting his words sink in. This had shifted from what I'd expected quickly, yet what he said sounded more useful for me now, if I stepped back and looked at things as logically as I could, than a simple lesson on managing my anger.

"You don't deny the Force around you can be bent to your will," Adas said, regaining my attention, "but are struggling with the aftereffects of it not doing enough to help. Which leaves you with a choice.

"Do you accept the teaching of the Jedi and make no outward attempt to have the Force help you find your apprentice? Do you follow the path of the False Sith and attempt to assume direct control of every element of the Force across this galaxy and beyond? Or do you wish to learn how to use the Force to alter the area around you, to wield it to suit your desires without risking the madness that preys upon your fears?"

… …

… …
Leaning back in my chair, I snarled. "Shab!" The Mando'a curse slipped easily from me as I pulled back from the Force, unable to sense Anakin in the system.

"No luck?"

"No," I replied, glancing at Simvyl. "He's not in the system." I paused and raised an arm, pointing in the rough direction where it had felt Anakin was coming from. "That way. Give or take."

"Observation: I am impressed with your accurate ability to provide directions, Master."

I ignored HK's sarcasm, as in his place, I'd share it. However, the method that Adas had taught me while we'd travelled to the closest system where HK felt the Trandoshans might've taken Anakin was helping narrow down the location. Or at least I hoped it was, as while it had yet to bear fruit, it was providing a general sense of where my son was.

The issue was that if the Trandoshans were still moving – which given we were barely a day after Anakin's abduction was possible – then it wouldn't be as effective. Still, it was quicker than spending hours, if not days, scanning each possible system for signs that any ships had arrived and approached the habitable, but generally uninhabited, planets that might be used as hunting grounds. Still, with Raven pushing herself so we were travelling at 0.5 past lightspeed – a drop of 0.2 on her official hyperspace rating – we were able to cover a half-dozen systems inside a day.

While using the Force as a very rough compass was, I felt, helping, I knew it wouldn't be enough to find Anakin in time. I could sense his fear even at the distance between us with the only upsides being that it wasn't growing weaker – suggesting he was travelling far from us – nor was it evolving into something worse, which would suggest the Trandoshans were beginning their hunt. I did wonder why he'd not yet tried to escape, as even with the limited training he'd had with using the Force, he should be able to cause trouble. However, perhaps he was simply showing restraint and applying the lesson I'd put in place when we'd left Karvoss II.

Since we'd be travelling as Mando'ade until we reached the Shapers, I'd warned him against using the Force except in the direst of circumstances. He'd used it slightly in the battle before he'd been abducted, but not enough – at least according to what the Battlenet recording suggested – that his captors had realised he was a Force user. If he was being smart, he was waiting and biding his time. I felt the Trandoshans would've removed most of his armour to lower the threat he could pose, so he'd be limited in what he could do to escape his confinement. Fighting unarmed on a ship, in tight quarters where he could be easily tracked was harder than on whatever world the beasts were taking him to. There, slim as it was, he would have a greater chance at surviving until I arrived, or possibly even slipping from their hunting grounds and taking a few down in the process.

Still, needing help in cutting down the exceedingly long list of possible worlds HK had, I'd reached out to a handful of people who might have contacts in the underworld. The two most prominent contacts were Dukes Adonai and Torrhen. While the pair were honourable, many Mando'ade worked as bounty hunters, and there should – in theory – be some form of network between the Mando'ade in the profession who might be willing, for a price I was happy to pay, to provide intel on favoured Trandoshans hunting grounds and worlds in the Inner, Mid and Outer Rims.

I'd also reached out to Miraj Scintel and a handful of others who might have contacts. While officially, the Zygerrians were happy members of the Republic, I knew that, if things didn't change, within a decade they'd return to their slaver roots. Because of that, there was a fair to good chance they still had connections into that world, which I could exploit. While I doubted they'd be of any use, it was worth the effort. Plus, even if I didn't need her or her father's help to find my son, the call ensured I remained in her thoughts, meaning the quest linked to her – Changing Fate [Miraj Scintel] – had a greater chance of success.

The only people that might be of use that I'd not yet reached out to were the Co-Chancellors. However, after over a day of fruitless searching, I was beginning to feel that letting Sidious and Plagueis know that I had a Padawan was less of a threat than allowing Anakin to be harmed, altered, or even killed by Trandoshans. The visions I'd seen of how, only together could we protect the galaxy from the encroaching darkness, meant Anakin's importance hadn't decreased because of my presence. Without him, the Force felt I didn't stand a chance to emerge victorious from what was coming, and after the debacle of Naboo and Drallig's death, I was placing more substance toward Force visions than I had before. If ensuring my best chance of victory meant alerting the Banite Sith to Anakin and thus starting their probes into his abilities and history, then that was what I'd do.

I could also, as Adas had hinted in our last conversation, delve deeper into the knowledge he held; to become a true apprentice to him. I was reluctant to take that path, though. While his words, and the ensuing discussion we'd had, during which he'd shown me how to use the Force as a rough compass to guide me toward Anakin, had made sense, I wasn't ready to think deeply about them. Not until Anakin was back and I was able to properly centre myself would I decide if the path he offered, one that was neither Jedi nor Sith – at least not that of the Banite Sith – would be the one I took.

Still, his words about the Force's concept of balance not matching what the Jedi felt was balance was something I agreed with, and had reached on my own. That the path taken by the Banite Sith was also, in Adas' opinion, a false one was not a surprise either. It was because of him that I referred to Sidious and Plagueis as Banite Sith, as it was the term he'd used for them. How and when he'd learnt of Darth Bane he wouldn't say, but I suspected he'd encountered a fallen Jedi or other Force user who'd known of the altered state of the Sith Lords brought forth by Bane. Still, I agreed with him and had been leaning that way even before first activating his holocron, that wiping the Jedi and Sith in their current forms from the board, and either rebuilding them myself or allowing others to do so, was the best choice for the galaxy. Such thinking was far into the future, and far from my concern currently.

My hands moved toward Raven's hyperdrive controls, though before I even pushed the throttle, powering us into the faster-than-light travel, Raven had already engaged the engines. That brought a small smile to my face, as I enjoyed the ability she had to know my intentions and act upon them. And now, after Anakin's abduction, to pilot herself to my location. I wasn't sure how others would feel about a starship that could think, fly – and maybe even one day, fight – for itself, but Raven was as far beyond other vessels as I was beyond a monkey.

Less than half a minute after the transition to hyperspace was complete, the communication system beeped. As the Force rippled, suggesting a glimmer of hope, I opened the channel. "Miraj," I said upon seeing the Zygerrian princess in what was a slightly revealing dress. Normally I'd be happy to appreciate her figure, even if I weren't sure how far, if anywhere, I was willing to take things with her in that regard, but today wasn't the time for it.

"Cameron," she replied, my name rolling off her lips seductively. "How goes the search for your boy?"

"Nothing so far." I'd not called Anakin my son with her, but she seemed to prefer calling him my child than an apprentice, which was her choice.

"While that is disappointing to hear, it does mean my news won't be unwelcomed." She leaned down, tapping at the controls wherever she was, and a moment later, Raven alerted me to incoming data. As normal, that was checked for any miscellaneous data, shunted into a secured sub-system, and before the data was accessed, that system was disconnected from the rest of Raven's network. "One of my uncles, one far from the throne and who has turned to more… unsavoury ventures than my father and I approve of, has contacts in the underworld. One of those contacts, which he reached out to as a favour to me, has contacts of their own among the Trandoshans. For a price, that contact is willing to meet you and provide the data that might be of use."

Part of me wondered what favour Miraj now owed her uncle, but it was something for her to handle. Just as, if this lead panned out, was the favour I'd owe her. "At this point, even if they can only provide a list of possible worlds, that will reduce my time searching immensely. Thank you," I lowered my head, making clear I understood I owed her for the help.

"There is no need to thank me, Cameron. My family and I are still deeply in debt for the agreement you negotiated. One that is benefiting all of Zygerria." She offered a wide, pleasant smile, making clear that she was still interested in me.

"Things are going well?" I asked, knowing that simply cutting the channel would be rude. Plus, with it taking time for HK and R2 – who was rolling toward the cockpit now – to examine and confirm the details of the contact and their location, it was better to at least appear interested.

"Yes. All the corporations are honouring the agreement, and have signed contracts with local subsidiaries to help revitalise Zygerrian markets and allow us to expand our influence across the sector. It has taken time, but even the lowest strata of our society are seeing improvements in their daily lives. My father has made sure that all know that without your help, none of us would be reaping the benefits we now experience." As she spoke, her smile widened, and the way her tongue flicked against her teeth made clear how she wished to repay the debt she felt she owed me. "Perhaps, after you've recovered your boy and dealt with those who dared challenge your power, you might consider returning to Zygerria? There is much here I would enjoy showing you." As she spoke, her fingers brushed her neck, drawing attention to her body, and removing any doubt of her intent.

"While I'm sure I would enjoy whatever it is you wish to show me, I cannot commit to a set date for visiting. Even after I've recovered my Padawan and those responsible face justice, I have other commitments." I swore she shivered at the idea of my form of justice, which I suspected, was close to how I intended to deal with those walking handbags. "However, when it is time for a break in training, and if we are nearby, I will contact you about a visit."

Honestly, I had no interest in flirting with her currently but being rude wasn't worth it. I had time to kill before the data was confirmed, and cutting her off would only insult her. Well, unless she thought I was playing hard to get, but that was not something I particularly cared about currently.

Her smile slipped slightly when I'd made clear I wouldn't be coming to Zygerria soon, but it recovered once I suggested I'd try to visit at some point. "I long for the day when I might see you again with my eyes, and not as simply a hologram in my private chambers." As she spoke, the hand on her neck slid lower, though I kept my gaze on her face. "I look forward to seeing you once more prove yourself against those unworthy of my attention. The Hero of Naboo is considered a friend of the royal family, and many at court are eager to see you in person." She looked to one side as if someone distracted her for a moment. "The Trade Federation is greatly disliked within the Outer Rim, and your actions alongside the Naboo Queen have earned you much attention from those who hold grudges with the Federation. Many have expressed interest in meeting you and discussing… opportunities that would benefit us all."

"Whenever I visit, if time allows, I'm willing to speak with these people, but I won't make any promises, Miraj." The idea that elements of what would form the basis of the CIS, at least those with true grievances that hadn't then been forced into worse situations by siding with the Separatists and thus being placed even greater under the thumb of the Federation and the other mega-corporations, was interesting. These people and worlds were friends of Zygerria, so there was a fair chance they'd have sided with the CIS to exploit the opportunities the war brought. Still, it was an avenue worth exploring, as at the very least, I'd learn names and places of targets I might not otherwise learn. "However, my focus remains on finding my Padawan, and ensuring he's unharmed."

"As it should be." Miraj's smile exposed her fangs, making clear she enjoyed the idea of how she thought I would handle the situation. "May your prey be easy to find, provide a satisfying hunt, and their deaths everything they deserve."

I nodded, not wishing to comment on how I hoped for the same as it was unbecoming of a Jedi, which for at least a few more years, I'd remain. "Again, thank you for this, Miraj." She offered a final nod and then the channel cut.

"How do you do it?"

I looked at Simvyl even as the computer checking the data Miraj had sent confirmed it was clean, and thus safe for HK and R2 to examine through Raven's systems. "Huh?"

"You know damn well what I mean." He shook his head. "Got a female on every world in the Republic."

"Not every world," I replied with a smirk, "just most of the ones I've visited."

He grunted, and thankfully let the matter drop. As R2 rolled into the cockpit, my mind turned, wondering if I could redirect Miraj's attention to Simvyl. I had enough attention from ladies who I wished to entertain, and I wasn't sure if Miraj would accept a human mate, or if I was comfortable with a Zygerrian. Simvyl, as a Cathar, in theory, should be a more suitable companion for Miraj, and it wouldn't cost me the support of either if they did become something. That, however, like everything bar Anakin, was a matter for another month.

"This better not be a wild goose chase," I muttered as the astromech accessed the data and began adding it to our flight data.

… …

… …

"Observation: Given the location, it is likely that this cantina is lacking in many basic amenities, Master."

"Good thing I'm not going here for food or drink," I replied as I walked with HK toward the meeting place of the contact that had come from Miraj. Or more accurately, from a distant uncle who'd gained to from Force-knew where. "Keep your eyes open for trouble, and if I signal, enter with intent."

"Exclamation: With pleasure."

HK stopped, taking position near the entrance, while I walked down the short flight of stairs. The others in our party remained with Raven. For Simvyl, while he was healed from the battle with the Trandoshans, part of me still blamed him for losing Anakin, and I was reluctant to have him guard my six. Fenrir, while far more eager than the Cathar to accompany me, had remained behind as well. The presence of a tuk'ata would only invoke strong reactions from the scum that awaited me inside the cantina.

Given the height of the building, and the slightly sunken location of the door, this cantina was half-buried. As I pushed the door open, the HUD reported on the general quality of the air inside, making me glad I was in my armour. Hints of diverse types of spice, deathsticks, and a hundred other chemicals that weren't great for one's health, swirled in the air. The only thing going for the place was that it wasn't Mos Eisley on Tatooine, but it wasn't much better.

Much of the noise in the cantina died down as I walked forward, making a beeline for the central bar area. Given I was in full beskar, it was likely most here were trying to get a read on what was probably the first Mandalorian they'd ever seen. The HUD was scanning everyone present, using the Battlenet to link to HK, and through him, Raven to check the scans against local security files.

By the time I reached the bar, the HUD had confirmed that over seventy per cent of the cantina's patrons were wanted on various charges. Those ranged from theft and extortion to kidnapping and murder. The worst ones were marked out as potential threats, though I ignored them. Along with the whispered hints from the darker reaches of my mind and the Force that said the only thing I'd find here was trouble and death. That I'd be better off just killing everyone present.

The worst of the bunch, and the head of the local food chain, was an Ishi Tib who sat at the back of the cantina. On his lap rested a barely-clothed yellow-skinned Twi'lek female while two more of the species – one green, one blue – were massaging his shoulders. Behind the stalk-eyed alien stood four Nikto, which were a surprise to see in this sector.

The Nikto, like several other species, were bound to serve the Hutts, so the only way those four could be here was because either the Ishi Tib worked for a Hutt, or they were disgraced and expelled from Hutt Space. Regardless of which it was, the veiled suggestions of the Force said I should remove them; that like Trandoshans, Hutts deserved nothing but death.

"What'll it be?" the Rodian behind the bar asked, but I ignored him, reading the details the HUD was providing about those I was now forced to share a room with. I had no interest in the swill they served here, nor the scum that frequented this place; though if their grubby eyes continued to stare at my armour, some seemingly thinking they could pry it from my corpse for a quick payday, I would take some pleasure in making their lives far shorter.

I pushed off the bar once the HUD located my contact; a brown-skinned Devaronian who was sitting by itself in a darkened alcove on one side of this osik-hole. A Togurta was with him, the female shifting provocatively against my target. As I moved closer, the HUD detected a burnt mark on the Togruta's neck, partially hidden by the thin clothing she wore. The same mark was on one of the Twi'leks with the Ishi Tib, and I growled and clenched my fists as I confirmed the females were slaves.

For a moment, I considered simply taking out everyone present, sending them all to waste recycling and freeing the slaves. The voices agreed, saying the scum present didn't deserve to even be in my presence. However, after a few short, deep breaths, I pushed those thoughts to one side. I wasn't here to end the lives of some minor, unimportant slavers. I was here to save Anakin. Everything else, no matter how appealing, was tertiary to that.

I moved across the cantina slowly, noting the way many of the patrons reacted as I neared and then passed them. While my hand never grasped the hilt of my beskad, that and the blaster pistol on the other hip drew a lot of attention. The murmurs of the Dark Side, saying I should strike down those who arrogantly eyed my blade for themselves, grew stronger. One patron, a Weequay, stood, making me pause and slowly, fighting the urge to lash out, turn to glare at him.

The alien, who looked vaguely familiar though there was no record of him on the local security reports, lifted his hands and backed off. It seemed he, unlike the rest of the bar, had the sense to leave instead of being in my presence.

I resumed walking toward the Devaronian, the Togruta with him freezing up once she realised my path. I grunted angrily under my helmet as the alien grasped the female, preventing her from leaving. The urge to simply shoot the Devaronian, and others in this place, to free those they enslaved returned with vigour, and it was harder to push it away again; to focus entirely on my goal of finding and saving Anakin, and then butchering every Trandoshan I could find.

"I'm told you have something for me," I said as I reached the table the alien was sitting behind.

He looked up at me, his devilish eyes scanning my armour for some hint of recognition and understanding. "Do I?" He replied, an annoying smirk dancing on his face as his grasp on the Togruta tightened, preventing her from squirming away to hide from me. His eyes settled on my beskad; the ripples of the rare metal used in its construction drew his attention with the same greedy, self-serving intentions as others in this shithole.

"You do," I sat down, mainly to hide my struggles to stop my fingers from twitching; the voices carrying desires to exterminate this creature and others nearby grew stronger with each passing second. "From a mutual friend on Zygerria."

The alien's eyes widened, and he looked me over again, this time trying to correct whatever false mental picture he had of me. "Heh," he said slowly, releasing his grasp on the Togruta," was expecting something different."

The Togruta stood rapidly, fear blasting from her as she scurried away. "Is that a problem?" I asked, ignoring the slave, though not the fact three Rodians behind me shifted at the commotion, the trio all grasping for their blasters.

I did my best to ignore them, to pretend the suggestions in my mind that they planned to attack me, to jump me and steal my armour, didn't exist. Even after attempting to centre myself while we travelled to this system, I'd struggled to quieten the voices that offered obscure assurances of power, of how I could find and save Anakin if I only took control of the Force; bend it entirely to my demands.

"No, but I'd like some proof you are who I'm expecting," the Devaronian responded, his arms shifting, the hand in his lap so I couldn't see what exactly he was up to, though it wasn't hard to figure out. The shabuir was reaching for a blaster, my concern that this was a setup, and fear that I was collecting a bounty on him washing over me in the Force, drowning out much of what else I could sense.

I moved one hand to my belt, the alien tensing as the digits drifted from his sight. "Relax," I said as I opened a pouch on my belt, "if I wanted you dead, you'd already be a corpse." Perhaps I could try being polite, but I wasn't in the mood for niceties, and this place was wreaking havoc on my sense of control. "Does this confirm my status?" I asked, placing the hilt of my lightsaber shoto on the table.

"You could've taken that from the body of any Jedi," the Devaronian replied.

I laughed loudly, making him tense and having others nearby turn sharply; spikes of concern mixing with rising tension. "I could've, but unless you want me to demonstrate another way to prove I'm who you're expecting, which, I don't recommend, I suggest you accept my proof without question."

The Devaronian continued to stare at me, the hands in his lap shifting around, my nerves slowly fraying as they suggested that he planned to betray me, that he was of no use, growing louder. "No, that shouldn't be needed." One hand rose from under the table, a small datacard in its paw. "I believe this is what you're after?"

"It better be," I replied, the HUD scanning the card to ensure it was genuine, and not some form of hidden explosive or otherwise trapped. While the HUD reported that wasn't the case, the murmurs changed, telling me the Devaronian planned to betray me, to not give me what he should; that I must take it from his dead, bleeding body.

"Relax my friend, none of us here wish to tangle with a Mandalorian, nor a Jedi posing as one." I bristled at the accusation that I wasn't Mando'ade, that I'd not paid the price and carried the hunt needed to earn the armour I wore. That I was somehow unworthy to wear it.

My fingers grasped the hilt of my shoto as the desire, the need to strike down this fool and prove my worth by killing him and everyone else in the building, grew stronger; slowly threatening to overwhelm my control. "Keep your insults to yourself," I snarled, "and give me what was promised."

"Now, now," he said, pulling his hand back, and taking the datacard away from me. "There's the matter of cost."

"I wasn't told of any cost," I shot back, Miraj hadn't mentioned such a thing, yet I'd half-expected it and come prepared. Yet now, as I glared at the alien, I felt little desire to pay the fool. Not when, as if sensing my mood, most of those behind me had moved away; their flight or fight senses telling them the coming battle was one they'd not survive.

A few remained, such as the Ishi Tib and his guards, but the majority were either leaving the cantina or shifting for cover on the far side of the room. The ones that hadn't reacted were those who carried warrants for murder or worse: the type that didn't easily back down from a threat. As everyone tensed, sensing the danger I presented, the quiet suggestions from deep inside that told me that this was all a trap, an attempt to gain something none of them deserved, grew even louder.

"There's always a cost, my friend. That is how this works."

"Not this time."

"Ah," The Devaronian tensed, "in that case…" The arm still under the table shifted, and I was moving.

My hand thrust forward, the lightsaber igniting as I reached for him.

"WA…" The words died in his throat as the plasma burnt through his chest, piercing his heart.
I stood, my free hand, the mechanical limb, grasping the table between us and wrenching it from its secure fastening on the floor, clearing a path to the target.

With a flick of my wrist, the datacard flew to my grasp and the body of the gasping, dying alien fell to the floor. Yet, as soon as I secured the card in my hand, I stumbled forward.

Someone, the HUD identified them as a Rodian, had shot at me, the bolt crashing into my armour.

Snarling, the need to carry out pest control no longer restrained, I turned. The lightsaber came up, slapping away my new target's next shot away, before the third was sent back at him.

The green-skinned alien stumbled back; a final expression of shock now permanently marring its face, having appeared there just before the bolt had slammed into its maw. The body crumpled to the floor even as those with him began to understand what'd happened.

Not wanting to lose my prize, I turned, shifting my body to cover the datacard as a few others opened fire. The bolts slammed into my armour, sending spikes of fury surging through me even as I secured the datacard in a pouch at my waist.

Once that was done, my hand moved, the Force reacting to my demands.

Two Rodians – tablemates of the dead one – were lifted from their feet, along with a handful of others nearby and anything not secured to the floor. The group of bodies and objects flew backwards, slamming into the wall; some with sickening crunches making clear their fate.

I blinked as everything started to fall, regaining my focus. "Fuck," I muttered as others in the bar, at least the few not rushing for the exits, drew weapons. I understood, as time slowed around me as I readied myself for battle, that I'd lost control. The HUD confirmed the Devaronian didn't have a blaster under the table, that he'd been reaching for a datapad and not a weapon. Yet, with the suggestions I'd been getting since nearing this place, that this was all a trap, that nothing I was doing would help save Anakin and my only choice was destruction to recover my son, assaulting my thoughts, I'd overreacted.

However, I didn't have time to fully process my mistakes. Battle was upon me, and I could feel myself sinking into the Force, readying myself to expunge some of the anger that had been an ever-present companion since Anakin was attacked.

Before any of those stupid enough to engage a Force-wielding Mando'ade could fire, the door I'd entered through earlier exploded. Several beings were thrown back but the shockwave, they and others shredded but debris that rocketed inward.

A moment later, as my lightsaber came around and slapped aside one pitiful attack and I drew my beskad, HK stepped through the cloud of debris. His yellow optical sensors gave the cloud an eerie glow, while his blaster sang, targets already picked out by the Battlenet.

I moved toward the first fool to anger me, my lightsaber coming down, severing their arm. The scream of pain died quickly as I thrust my blade through their chest.

Pulling the blade back, blood gushed forth, and I spun, ducking low and thrusting out my arm. The next target was knocked back by the Force, their fall made permanent by HK's accurate fire.

I turned; my rage demanded the bug-faced alien I'd seen at the back meet the fate he deserved. The muscle he had opened fire, trying pathetically to protect their master. Bolts were deflected away, or back toward the source, taking out one of the fools even as my main target pushed the slaves he'd had between me and him, denying me a clear shot.

Raging at him using others for cover, at the callous disregard for life, my hand thrust forward. Black energy surged from my fist, slamming into two of the guards. The pair were lifted and slammed into the wall by the attack, creams of pain echoed around the cantina, freezing many in place.

Those who had frozen, caught out by the display of true power, that deserved death died in a hail of blaster fire. HK mowed them and others down with ease. I stepped toward my target, the last guard falling as I threw my beskad at him; the blade pushed by the Force sailed into his chest, pinning him to the wall behind.

A furious snarl of rage erupted from me as the Ishi Tib slipped through a door, the way sealing itself behind him even as his slaves whimpered around my feet, scrambling to be clear of my path. The Force did as I demanded, and the door shuddered, bending unnaturally inward before it was blasted in, a startled shout of pain meaning I'd hit someone.

Stepping into the gap, the shoto in my hand ensured I could still see in the darkness beyond. The Hud quickly located the door I'd blasted in further down a short corridor, blood and a leg smeared over it as it lay embedded in what had to be the rear exit from the cantina the alien had planned to use to escape.

"H-help me," he whimpered, his hand clutching feebly to slow the blood loss from where his leg had once been. I lifted my lightsaber, the yellow light bathing the alien's face. "NO!" he screamed, bringing up his hands in a pathetic attempt to stop me. "The Jedi…"

"Aren't going to save you," I finished after burying my blade in his face; ending his life, and granting those wounded by his actions some measure of justice.

I stood there, the plasma of my blade sizzling as blood from the twitching body landed upon it, breathing deeply. "FUCK!" I screamed inside my helmet, understanding that I'd again lost control. That I'd fought with the dark voices inside me and lashed out. While the Ishi Tib and the others who'd died because of my anger deserved what they'd got, I was furious at myself.

After taking a few more moments to find something close to calm, I powered down the lightsaber, turned and walked back into the cantina. The place was destroyed, bodies, blood, guts, and Force-knew what other internal fluids coating the floor and walls, with few if any tables undamaged. The central bar still stood, but every glass shattered, and mugs strewn everywhere.

I pulled my beskad from the body I'd impaled with it, the Nikto slumping to the floor, a weak groan escaping its lips telling me it hadn't yet expired.

"Get out," I growled to the few beings still alive in the place. Outside of the slaves and staff, few of the patrons who'd not left when I'd entered were able to leave. The rest were dead, the only people who'd complain about the mess being the poor sods sent to identify the bodies and then cleanse the building.

"Observation: While I am grateful for the outlet to further enhance my calibrations, I do hope you secured the data you needed, Master."

I reached into my pouch, pulling out the datacard. "Shab!" I snarled, seeing it was bent. A groan from one body on the ground provided a vent for the new burst of rage as I kicked their face in. "Damnit," I grunted and shook my head. "Think R2 can salvage anything from this?"

"Answer: Possibly, though he isn't designed for such tasks the astromech is remarkably skilful when motivated."

"Ugh." I shook my head and moved toward the exit, enraged at myself for my actions. I'd lost control, lashed out, and possibly cost myself what information the Devaronian had that could lead the way to Anakin. "Son of a bitch," I added, stepping out into the cool, night air of the planet.

In the distance I could hear sirens, suggesting whatever passed for law enforcement in this city had been alerted to the commotion and was on their way.

"Assessment: Might I suggest we vacate the location, Master? Unless you wish to test our skill against the local security forces."

"I think we've had enough fun for one day." My reply was meant to be jovial, but there was no humour in my tone. The only feelings I had were anger at myself, and fear for what my loss of control might cost Anakin.

Looking upward, I reached out into the Force. Anakin was still alive, but far from this world. Given we'd had to travel two sectors away from our search grid for the meeting, that wasn't a surprise. Still, not sensing any distress, or at least nothing new to suggest he was now being hunted, eased some of my turmoil.

I had a problem, and until I gained control of it, I was a liability. One that, if it caused Anakin to be hurt – permanently or temporarily, mentally, or physically – I'd never forgive myself for. I'd spent the last few days considering Adas' offer to train me to master the Force around me, instead of fighting and denying that the dangerous impulses I heard and felt came from anywhere but myself. I could see that, unless I submitted myself for full retraining by the Jedi, or turned to the Banite Sith for help – neither of which was ever going to happen – then I had to accept his teaching. I just hoped that it didn't cost me everything I had, and everything I wanted to do, to learn at the Sith King's feet.

"Come on. We need to give this to R2 and hope it'll lead us to those walking lizards."

"Hu-hmm." I spun at the unexpected sound, cursing myself for getting lost in my thoughts and not seeing the HUD and Force alerting me to the nearby Weequay. That it was the same one that had been the first to leave the cantina when I'd entered did little to settle that annoyance. "If by walking lizards, you mean Trandoshans, I might be of some help. For a fee of course."

I looked at the pathetic alien, wondering what he hoped for, beyond a few quick credits. My hand slipped to my beskad. The Weequay stepped back, hands rising frantically to show he wasn't a threat.

"Wait! WAIT!" It mewed distressingly. "I'm not trying to cheat you!"

My mouth opened, readying to throw an insult toward it, only for the sound to die in my throat. As unexpected as it was, I felt the Force shifting around me; almost as if it were suggesting I should hear out this feeble alien. "You'd better not be," I said, staying my instinct to exterminate the alien.

"I'm not. I'm not." The alien straightened, understanding it wasn't about to die, and patted down the rags that passed for clothing.

"Query: How are you acquainted with Trandoshans, meatbag?"

The Weequay blinked, uncertain of how to respond to HK's question, before replying to me. "I'm aware, through sources, of several groups that have operations in this and several sectors nearby. Some are bounty hunters, some are slavers, and others use the worlds they frequent to train their younglings. It depends on which groups you're interested in."

"Initially, just those who use the children of other races to train their young. If, however, your information proves useful, then I'd be interested in the other groups as well."

"And your reason for seeking such a group of Trandoshans?"

"A personal matter." There was no chance I'd be telling some random street Weequay about what had happened with Anakin.

"Ah, yes, yes. Your business is your business. Just as mine is mine." It chuckled as if finding something funny in its words. "All that matters is the price of information, which depends on supply and demand."

"And on who has the more pressing need for the information," I added, my hand tapping against the blade of the beskad, drawing the alien's attention to the blood still dripping down the blade, slowly pooling at my feet.

"Ah, yes. An accurate assessment." The Weequay looked around before gesturing for us to resume walking, this time with him at our side. "Now, before we discuss terms, which since the security forces are getting closer, I would recommend we do so far from here, perhaps we might introduce ourselves." He turned as we walked, offering me a wide smile. "Hondo Ohnaka at your service."

… …

… …
A/N: Yes, I'm aware that Cam once more lost control of his rage/anger. This time though was the first when he experienced it without the Interface to filter the issues that creates. And why he turned to the only source of tempering and focusing that rage/anger that he had in Adas. We'll see where that leads next chapter.

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This story is cross-posted on Fanfiction.net, Archive of our Own, and Royal Road.
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USSExplorer · Aug 13, 2024

A/N: Thanks to those helping me write and plan out this story and checking it for continuality and logical errors.

This chapter was released to those on the story's Discord, and who those support my writing anywhere from 1 to 4 months ago.

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3.05 Father and Son
... ...

"Cautionary: I believe my master was quite clear about what you could and couldn't touch, meatbag."

The meatbag in question, Hondo Onaka, took a few cautious steps back, his hands raised in a gesture of compliance. "Yes, yes. I recall his words perfectly, droid. I was merely... curious, yes, curious, about what this is." His tone and body language conveyed submission, but the fluidity with which Hondo moved hinted at something more than the image of a simple smuggler and pirate. On several occasions, he had displayed an unexpected grace or control that belied his outward persona. I had never pressed him about it, content to let him keep his secrets as I kept mine, but I suspected some form of combat training. Perhaps not the refined techniques of Teräs Käsi, the Jedi, or the Mando'ade, but certainly something of significance.

It might well explain how he managed to hold his own against Force users in the media I remembered from before my rebirth. There were significant issues I had with the arc that introduced him—how he had so effortlessly captured Dooku, Obi-Wan, and Anakin. Even without his lightsaber, I knew Dooku could have overwhelmed Hondo and his gang with minimal effort. Yet, that was another timeline, and I had learned enough in this new life not to assume that everything I knew from before applied here—or to underestimate anyone I encountered.

"Mockery: Ah yes, this is all just a simple misunderstanding, and I have failed to anticipate your actions and behaviour." I bit back a chuckle at HK's response as I continued to observe the interaction via a security camera in the central area of the ship.

"Exactly!" Hondo replied, spreading his arms wide.

I couldn't help but shake my head at the behaviour. It might be nearly a decade before he set up with his gang on Florrum and exploited the opportunities the Clone Wars brought, but the quick tongue and disarming manner were already part of his repertoire. Still, the odds that after the debacle with Miraj's contact, the one who was now helping me locate Anakin was Hondo fucking Onaka wasn't lost on me.

Whether it was an act of the Force, TPTB, or simply random chance, that had made Hondo one of the few to slip away from that cantina before I lost control, I didn't know. Nor, honestly, did I care. All that mattered was these contacts he told me about who knew the location of several Trandoshan hunting parties in this and nearby sectors of the Outer Rim.

"How much longer are we going to tolerate this pirate?"

I turned from the display, taking in Simvyl's irritated expression. Ever since Hondo had set foot on Raven, the Cathar had disliked his presence. After five days, it had reached the point that unless Hondo was in his assigned cabin – with HK standing guard outside it – then Simvyl would either be in the cockpit, training area blowing off steam, or in his cabin. I wasn't sure what it was about Hondo – or Weequay in particular- that Simvyl didn't like, but it was clear he disliked the pirate, and it wasn't just a reaction to his injuries and foul mood at losing Anakin on his watch.

Simvyl's wounds had healed, though he had deliberately removed the patches before the scars could fully mend. I hadn't questioned his reasons, but I suspected it was his way of reminding himself of his failure to protect Anakin. I had already assured him that I didn't hold him responsible for Anakin's abduction—once I had mastered my rage enough to refrain from lashing out at everything around me. I understood that he had done all he could in the face of overwhelming odds. Still, Simvyl had vowed that when we found the lizards, he would show them the exact measure of mercy they deserved—none at all.

"At least until we meet his contact," I replied slowly, turning my gaze back to the monitor. Hondo was moving away from the area HK had just warned him about—a small door leading to where we stored most of our munitions. It had been five days—one galactic week—since Anakin's abduction, and two since the disastrous meeting with Miraj's contact. In the time I wasn't in the cockpit, I spent hours meditating on my actions, struggling to control the fury that churned within me. Unlike before, I had neither an outlet for my emotions—be it Bo or battle—nor could I simply suppress the rage and find my centre. Though I regretted killing the Devaronian before he could give me the information I needed, I felt no remorse for his death, nor for the deaths of nearly everyone else in that cantina. Slavers, killers, thugs—they deserved nothing less than execution for their crimes. It wouldn't provide lasting relief, but I hoped that the deaths of so many in the planet's underworld might offer the general populace a brief respite.

I watched as Hondo left the central area, Raven shifting the display to show the Weequay moving down the corridor, seemingly toward his cabin. Hondo had been clearly warned that if his contact proved useless, or that if he tried to acquire anything on Raven that didn't belong to him, then his screams as he died would be heard from Coruscant to Nal Hutta. He'd gulped at my warning, taking it seriously, though it seemed that after a day and a half on Raven he might be needing a reminder.

The issue I was facing was if I would kill him if his contact proved useless. While nothing important now, he had the potential to be of use to me as the galaxy teetered closer to all-out war. I had no interest in taking control of even a fraction of the galactic underworld – honestly, I was more inclined to wipe out what I could – but I understood that it existed since before the Republic had been formed twenty-five thousand years ago, and would continue to do so, no matter what the future brought. Having a few contacts in that sphere that I could call on directly would not be the worst thing.

"I doubt he's going to be of much use," Simvyl responded as I continued to watch as Hondo moved through Raven, HK a few steps behind, his hands on his blaster while his optical receptors watched the Weequay carefully. The droid had orders to not kill the Weequay at the first attempt each day, merely offering a warning. As that had been done, the next warning would carry him readying his blaster and the third a wounding shot. Hondo knew this but still seemed intent on pushing his boundaries.

"Probably not, but I sense the Force at work in having him meet us." Simvyl rolled his eyes at my comment, which was understandable. That sort of wishy-washy phrase wasn't one I used often, or placed my stock in and generally disliked. Still, I couldn't ignore the idea that someone or something had ensured I encountered Hondo, nor was I going to act like it might not have future uses.

Of course, I had no intention of revealing to Hondo that I was a Jedi, nor would I ever remove my helmet in his presence. Though I wasn't widely known, my face had been all over the Holonet earlier this year due to the events on Naboo and my association with the planet and Chancellor Palpatine. And let's not forget my strong connection with Chancellor Damask as well.
The thought of both Banite Sith Lords being Co-Chancellors terrified me. Yet, I had come to terms with the fact that, for the time being, there was little I could do to thwart their plans—certainly not more than I had already managed.

Maul was off the board, Dooku wasn't going to become Tyrannus – the quest for him wasn't completed, but I felt it insanely unlikely he'd become the Sith's puppet – and the Mandalorians, one of the few warrior cultures in the galaxy that would be inclined to move against the Republic weren't led by the di'kut New Mandalorians.

However, all of that mattered little if I lost Anakin. While I didn't trust a Force vision to be a perfect indication of what might happen – my beskar-coated forearm a clear example of that – I accepted that for the Banite Sith to be defeated, Anakin and I had to work together.

But more than that, I'd made him a promise, to train him to defend and protect himself and those he holds dear, and even if I had to burn a world to save him, I wasn't going to break that promise.

… …

… …
(Anakin's POV)
He scurried forward, climbing over the remains of what appeared to be an X-31 speeder that lay against the current mound of junk he was making his way around. While it would be useful to climb to the top, given who was hunting him, he knew he couldn't do so. That would only leave him exposed to any Trandoshan with a blaster rifle.

That fate had befallen one of the fourteen other children that the aliens had captured along with him before they'd arrived on this world. Anakin didn't know where this world was, only that, after nearly a day of scrambling around the various mountains of debris – something he was basing on the planet's sun slowly sinking over the horizon when it'd been rising when they'd landed – that it was one of countless such worlds, and often they were only known by an Aurenumerial code.

He'd been on the Trandoshan's vessel for some time, though the exact time was hard to pin down as when he'd awoken the lizards had some of his armour. The vambraces, which contained a handful of non-lethal ordinance, and his helmet, which had access to the armour's HUD, were gone. The rest of the armour was left; the lead Trandoshan had said that it would make him a more worthy kill during the hunt. While he, and the other children that had been captured, had been given food, it was worse than even what he'd had while a slave on Tatooine, and if not for the fact the Trandoshans intended to hunt them instead of selling them, Anakin feared he'd have lashed out and tried to escape.

After the lead Trandoshan had left, the air turning blue with the string of insults Anakin sent his way, he'd considered how to escape the cage he found himself in. Even without the advanced systems of his armour available to him, Anakin felt he could crack the lock. However, he ignored that idea, and the voices at the back of his mind that suggested he use the Force to escape. He'd also pushed down the bonfire of rage that demanded that he strike out against the lizards, that he didn't allow anyone to ever again cage and enslave him.

Without knowing where he was, how big the ship he was on, and how many and where the other Trandoshans – there were always more than one of the ugly lizards around – were, he'd decided against it. The longer they didn't know he was a Jedi – or at least one in training – the longer he'd have some tricks to help him when it came time to escape. Kriff, once the lead Trandoshan had informed him and the other children that they'd be heading to the hunting grounds, he'd managed to squirrel away a few devices that the Trandoshans had left lying around the bay and slipped them inside his armour.

He still had those tools, and with the amount of debris around them, he felt that, if he could find the time and the right pieces, he could use some of what was here to at least slow down the lizards. Cam was coming for him, and Anakin swore to himself and the Force that he'd survive until Cam arrived, and he'd do whatever he could to help the others survive as well.

Thinking of Cam made Anakin glance skyward. While there were lightyears between them, Anakin knew Cam was searching for him. It would take time to reach here, but Anakin knew Cam would arrive at some point; all Anakin had to do was stay alive until then, and keep as many of his new friends alive as he could.

With little to do while in his cage, he'd spoken with the other children captured by the Trandoshans. There'd been twelve when he'd first awoken, with two more added before they reached the world the hunt was taking place on. They came from various places and species, but all were around his age or at least his height. Some species grew faster than humans, and some matured faster, but no one in the cages was older than thirteen cycles.

Once they'd reached the planet they'd been roughly hauled off the ship and tossed out of the ramp. While lying on the ground, cleaning the dirt from his clothes and remaining armour, the lead Trandoshan had spoken. The alien had given them an hour to run before the hunt would begin.

While some kids had stood around, unsure of what to do, Anakin knew the Trandoshan was serious and tried to convince the others to run. Most had, but two – a Human boy and a Togruta girl – hadn't. The pair had collapsed to their knees and began begging the Trandoshans to take them home. Anakin had wanted to convince them that they were wasting their breath, but he knew the longer he stayed near the ship, the greater the odds were that he'd die before Cam could arrive.

What seemed like an hour later, two blaster shots rang out over the world. Several in the group had started crying as they realised the two who'd stayed behind had been killed, something Anakin knew had happened as the faint spikes of fear and disbelief they'd echoed into the Force had blinked out with echoes of the blasters firing.

The voices from within that suggested drawing on the Force and striking back against the aliens had grown stronger in that moment, but Anakin hadn't listened to them. Instead, after vowing to himself to keep as many of them alive as he could, he'd convinced everyone to keep moving. Of course, as he wasn't the oldest, a pair of Twi'lek boys had argued they should be in charge and weren't going to follow him. They and three others had headed off in a different direction, even after Anakin had tried to explain that they were better off staying together. There'd been sounds of blasters firing since that split, and Anakin had felt three more children die through the Force, but so far those who'd stayed with him were fine.

One boy, the oldest among them, had broken off by himself, feeling he'd do better alone and wanted nothing to do with Mandalorians. Anakin wasn't happy about that, but he'd accepted the boy's choice. Anakin was reasonably sure Kesh was still alive, but he couldn't be certain as Kesh had been the last child captured, and he'd barely spoken with the dark-skinned boy before they'd arrived on this world.

With the sun slowly setting, Anakin knew the world was going to get cold. Well, colder as even when the sun had been directly overhead it hadn't been that warm. He could use the Force, thanks to the training with Instructor Kefe, to warm himself, but the five who'd decided to follow him couldn't. Also, while they needed to keep ahead of the Trandoshans, they couldn't move at night. Not unless this world has a moon to provide light. Until they were sure it was safe to move at night, it was better to find somewhere to settle down for a few hours.

Anakin was surprised that the lessons he'd learnt while a slave for Watto were coming back, but as they moved through the debris, he'd seen various little bits of tech that, if he'd had time, he'd have enjoyed examining. Perhaps, when they moved out later, he could see what he could salvage as if the junk here was like what Watto had kept in his yard, then some of it might be useful against the Trandoshans.

They'd only searched one piece of junk, that of a downed cargo transport. It hadn't been a large vessel, but the logo on a nearby cargo container had suggested the vessel might have food onboard. They'd lucked out when Plirs, a Weequay, had found a left-over crate half-full of rations designed to last forever. The food hadn't tasted great, but it was the first meal they'd had since being released, and what they'd not eaten had been squirrelled away in their pockets. Anakin knew, again drawing on his memories of being enslaved, that it wouldn't last long – perhaps three days if they were careful – but it was at least something.

As he reached the side of the hill he was clambering over, Anakin gazed at the nearby mounds, seeking a place to shelter. As much as he didn't want to admit it to anyone, he was enjoying this. Not the being hunted by kriffing aliens – though he was beginning to understand why Cam hated Trandoshans so fiercely – part, but the fact he was being forced to fend for himself. Well, for himself and others.

The life-and-death stakes of the situation were thrilling him, fuelling his excitement as he pushed himself to the limit. The array of technology around him, which might have piqued his interest on another day, only added to his sense of exhilaration. His companions might think him crazy for finding any enjoyment in this predicament, but Anakin didn't care. Not everyone shared his and Cam's perspective. Some couldn't find pleasure in such a dire place while being hunted. Perhaps that was why Cam was both Jedi and Mandalorian and why Anakin aspired to be both as well.

He forced his thoughts away from Cam, focusing instead on their surroundings as the Togruta female, Eshie, joined him. "There," he said, gesturing toward a downed light freighter, half-buried two mounds away. "We'll rest there."

"Why there?" Eshie asked. Anakin turned to her, momentarily distracted by her purple skin, reminiscent of Baalta Iradel's. He quickly reminded himself not to dwell on the Lokella—or more specifically, his sister Lia. She was safe with Ferox, and once Cam rescued him, Anakin planned to check in with Ferox to see how they were doing.

Ferox might have intended to marry his mother, but Anakin couldn't envision him as a father. According to Mandalorian tradition, Cam was his adoptive father, though Anakin hadn't fully embraced that role. Cam felt more like a big brother or cousin than a father. Anakin knew this wasn't the Jedi's ideal, but he didn't care. Family and friends were crucial to him, even those he'd only recently met, like Eshie and her companions.

Cam had made it clear that, except for Master Dooku, Anakin was not to reveal their relationship to any Jedi. He found the Jedi's prohibition against having family and friends to be foolish, but he understood that he had no power to change it. Moreover, Cam had emphasised that if the Jedi Council discovered their connection, they would try to separate them. That was the primary reason Anakin had agreed to keep their adoption a secret from the Order.

"It's big enough and there's a few ways in and out. Plus, as it's half-buried, we should be able to hide there if the Trandoshans get too close," He replied to Eshie. While he was being honest, Anakin was also holding back. If the Trandoshans were using beasts to track their scent – he'd heard a few howls from something on the voyage here to suspect that was the case – then they might be found in the ship. However, Anakin had felt something in the Force, which he felt, if he was understanding things correctly, meant it was suggesting the downed freighter would be a safe, if temporary, shelter.

While he'd only had some teaching in how to use, draw upon, and understand the Force, Anakin had realised that it had always been there. The feeling of when or not, to do something, or go somewhere had been the Force guiding his actions. He wasn't sure he liked the idea that it was controlling him, but so far it hadn't guided him anywhere he'd not wanted to go, though he did often wonder if he'd not gone with Cam to the Lokella if his mother would still be alive.

Thoughts like that, as Master Dooku had remained him several times after his mother died, were dangerous. The past couldn't, no matter how we might wish otherwise, be changed. Master Dooku was clear that one had to learn to accept what had happened and grow from it, though Anakin did wonder why, whenever he said that or something similar, he and Miss Vosa always seemed drawn to each other within the Force.

Once he was off this world, and if he was feeling brave enough, he'd ask Master Dooku about it. Until then, he'd place it, and his thoughts on Lia, the Force and almost everything else to one side. He needed to remain focused on this world, and those relying on him, so that when Cam came – and he knew he would – they were alive and well.

… …

… …
(Cam's POV)
I sighed deeply, my breath steadying as I settled into the shadowed embrace of my room, lost in contemplation. The Force whispered through the darkness, a living current weaving its way through all that surrounded me. I sensed its rhythm in the very fabric of existence, a dance of energy that pulsed through the organic and the mechanical alike. Within Raven's form, I felt the ancient currents of power intertwining between her living tissues and her metallic veins. Her presence in the Force resonated with familiarity, a reflection of the bond forged between myself, Fay, and the seedpartners of Sekot.

In the cockpit, Simvyl was watching the controls, his emotions slowly returning to normal as he accepted that what happened wasn't his fault. In the cabin assigned to him while outside I knew HK was standing guard. Fenrir was at my door, his presence naturally cloaked to allow him to sneak up upon a target, though due to our bond, I always knew where he was.

Yet for all that, my focus today, as it had been in each session I'd had since Anakin was taken, and after speaking with Adas, was directed inward.

I felt the Force raging within me, a tempest of light and shadow clashing against the calm teachings of the Jedi, which guided me to surrender to its will. The storm of rage, ever-present and unyielding, surged from the echoes of the Bando Gora and the Vong, mingling with the flames of past indignations. In a life unshaped by the Force, controlling such fury was simpler, with the voices of desire and the raw impulses of my nature untempered by the vast potential of the Force. Now, with the Interface withdrawn by my choice, I had to confront those inner demons alone.

Drawing a deep breath, I turned my focus inward, embracing the war that raged within me. I would no longer cower from the darkness or suppress it with futile efforts. Guided by Adas' wisdom, I sought not to accept these primal urges but to transcend them, to command my actions and chart my destiny free from the fears and doubts festering in my soul.

I had long known that the path of the Jedi was not my true course. The Order, entangled with a corrupt Republic, had descended into the mire of its own decay, where the highest echelons were driven by self-interest, favouring their own and their allies over the common good. While countless dedicated souls laboured for the Republic across the galaxy, those in power—whether rulers of worlds, sectors, or senators—were consumed by their own agendas. This corruption, a reflection of issues from my former life, now seemed vast and incomprehensible, magnified beyond anything I had imagined before my rebirth.

A shift occurred within me; the Force rose like a serpent, intertwining with my darker inclinations, demanding I heed its twisted desires. This merging of the Force with my repressed urges was no longer to be cast aside as I had before.

I directed my focus inward, setting aside all other thoughts to confront this threat. I was in control, not the distorted desires of the Force shaped by my base needs. I would not be a puppet to these urges; I would master them. My fate was mine to determine, my path mine to walk. I was…

[BEEP]

My eyes shot open, distracted as I attempted to sink into a deep meditation by the sound of the intercom going off. I sighed as I shifted on my bed, annoyed that I'd not been able to keep attempting to meditate on Adas' words and the ideals he'd suggested.

The Jedi path was one I'd known for some time wasn't going to work for me. at least not how it was taught at the Temple currently. I simply couldn't do as the Council and others continued to insist I do; releasing my emotions into the Force wasn't possible because of Eidetic Memory. That power meant that my feelings for everything I'd ever experienced – good or bad – returned whenever I relived a memory. Those memories were both those I'd experienced in this life, and from what had come before, and many of them were impossible to ever accept and live with.

Perhaps there was some older method, something more than just the more simplistic but complicated Code that I'd taught to Serra. However, I'd yet to find any hint of something that might apply properly to me. Or to Anakin, as I knew the base Code of the Jedi would never work for him. Both the current form and its older variant, while having some use, weren't something I could commit to, and not just because of the issues brought on by the Interface.

The seemingly blind obedience that most Jedi held toward the Force made perfect sense for them. they were born with the connection, and almost to a sentient, raised in the Temple to accept that. Like Anakin, I wasn't raised by the Order, and with a lifetime of memories, experiences, and opinions predating my connection to the Force – filtered as it had been by the Interface – giving myself over to it completely simply wasn't something I found I could do for any significant length of time.

The path followed by the Sith, or the Banite Sith since the order of Sidious and Plagueis was something entirely different from the Sith of Adas' time, in both species and belief, wasn't one I could see myself following either. While there were parts of their Code that held appeal, much like with the Jedi Code, it wouldn't work for me.

I wasn't, like every Sith that had followed Darth Bane, willing to work from the shadows. I preferred, as much as it might place me at risk, to be in the thick of the action. A trait that I knew Anakin would develop with time even if I'd not taken him as my Padawan. That was why I was slowly trying to draw upon Adas' words to meditate and centre myself.

According to Adas, the thing I feared the most was losing control; be that to the anger and rage within me or the Force. He explained that the challenge that I faced was one every Force user encountered. That of taking control of their destiny and not being a tool for the Force or our baser instincts and emotions. To recover my direction, and my sense of purpose, I had to look deep within myself and face what lay within.

The fear that I would lose myself to my anger, along with the concerns of giving myself over to the Force entirely and the power that my connection with the Force granted me, were things I had to confront. That I had to accept were there and then overcome. I knew that if I failed in gaining control then all the potential I held with the Force, for using it to prevent the rise of the Empire and the rule of the Banite Sith, would be for nought.

The main issue was that after a half dozen sessions of meditating – or more accurately, attempting to – I was struggling to find my centre and overcome my fears. I was making some progress as the voices saying I should rip the knowledge I needed from Hondo's mind, that I should flay every lizard I encountered until Anakin was back at my side, were quieter, but they were still there.

Another concern was that I was treading a path Adas had envisioned for me, one that might inadvertently lead me to become his spiritual successor. Adas had been an immensely powerful figure, uniting the Sith species under his dominion and expelling the Rakata—a feat rarely accomplished during their reign over the galaxy. However, I feared that if I was not cautious, my journey to defeat the Banite Sith and prevent the rise of their Empire might inadvertently birth something even more catastrophic, something worse.

Sliding from my bed, I took slow, deep breaths, pushing thoughts of what my future might hold, and centred myself on the present. "Yes?" I said, using the Force to activate the room's intercom as I stood and moved toward the table where most of my armour rested.

"Got an incoming transmission from Mandalore," Simvyl replied from the cockpit. While Raven was capable of flying by herself while in hyperspace, the Cathar and I felt better if one of us was present. It also stopped our passenger from asking questions about who was monitoring the flight, or attempting to sneak into the cockpit, though with HK an ever-present shadow, Hondo was – for him – behaving himself.

"Patch it to my armour," I said as I slipped the first vambrace on. While I had weaponry built into my arm, I was still wearing the vambrace over it. While that did limit which of the extras within the arm I could use, the vambrace held a wider selection of tools. With Maul captured, I'd altered the loadout to carry a more lethal ordinance, though the non-lethal selections were stored in several secured containers in my room. There would come a day when I'd have to interact with Jedi, and since they still felt I was one of them, using such ordinance in the vambraces would remove some of their concerns about my choice to wear armour. Plus, there may well be times when I wanted a target captured and not removed, though hopefully by the time that was the case, I'd have regained most, if not all, of my Force powers; along with learning a few new ones along the way.

The vambrace beeped as the signal was routed to it, and a moment later a familiar face appeared. "Alor Adonai," I said upon seeing one of the two dukes who'd allied their Houses with my Clan appear. While I'd never voiced it, I was confused why neither he nor Torrhen Ordo had moved to become Mand'alor. They were the two most powerful figures among the Clans and could try for the title, though I was glad they didn't.

As Mando'ade myself, anyone becoming Mand'alor would place me in the position of choosing between officially staying or not following the Mand'alor and being labelled dar'manda: a traitor to our people. If the choice had to be made, I knew which way I would go, and I suspected Anakin would be fine with it, but an issue would arise with Serra.

Like me, she was Mando'ade, but as a Jedi Padawan, she had less freedom to make that choice. I still hadn't spoken to her directly, as even when I called her after leaving Instructor Kefe, I'd been told my call would be routed to Master Windu. Not wanting that to happen, I'd spoken with Darihd, and for a brief moment, with Sifo-Dyas.

Windu was still controlling Serra's contacts within the Order, though Darihd, Sia-Lan and a handful of others had spoken with her. The Togruta had informed me that she was doing better and seemed to be starting to accept Master Drallig's death as the will of the Force, which was a relief. However, that Windu was preventing me from speaking to her directly was only feeding into my anger regarding Anakin's capture.

Serra meant far more to me than Windu, and I felt I had the right to check up on her and know how she was doing, as while I didn't regret Drallig's death – not when it meant Serra survived – I felt I should try and let her know I was here if she wanted to talk. I suspected that Windu was keeping me distant from her as he felt – correctly – that the connection we shared had played a part in Drallig's death, and had no choice but to accept it. Going to the Temple, particularly with how unbalanced I currently was, would only result in me being either confined to a cell or sent to one of the prisons the Jedi maintained for those the High Council felt had fallen to the Dark Side.

"Alor Cameron," Adonai said with a tired smile, "how fares the search for your ad?" Adonai was one of those I had reached out to when Anakin was taken. I had asked him to keep the matter from Bo, knowing that she would drop everything to join me. While her eagerness was understandable, it could easily be interpreted as an affront from her—and by extension, House Kryze—toward Clan Shan. Anakin's abduction was an internal Clan issue; unless I explicitly requested assistance from other Clan leaders, any outside interference could spark a diplomatic incident.

I had considered asking Adonai and Torrhen for help, but doing so would feel like conceding defeat, both as an Alor and a father. Moreover, I sensed that while Anakin was under stress, he was not in immediate danger. Though neither Adonai nor Torrhen would judge me harshly, the broader discontent against a Jedi being Mando'ade could be weaponized to undermine my position—and potentially the dukes as well. I was convinced that building a formidable Mando'ade force was essential to confronting the power of the GAR and CIS, and I was unwilling to risk that ambition with unnecessary political fallout. However, if Hondo's contact proved ineffective, I might have no choice but to face the consequences and seek their assistance.

"I'm following what I hope will be a productive lead."

"That is good. Neither I nor Alor Torrhen have heard word from those loyal to us of Trandoshans working in your region of the Outer Rim. At least not a group that is actively targeting children for hunts." His distaste for the lizard's behaviour was clear to hear and see.

"I had expected as much, but you have my thanks for reaching out." Adonai nodded, accepting the thanks.

A glance at the chronometer on the vambrace told me there was still about an hour before we'd be exiting hyperspace. Since I knew I'd not have any further success with meditating on my internal issues, I figured I'd see if I could learn fresh intel regarding the Mandalorian sector. "How are things going closer to home?"

"For the most part, things are going well," Adonai replied. He paused and glanced down and a few seconds later my vambrace reported an incoming file. "As I knew you might be interested in an update on the state of our people, I had Pre prepare a data package for you." As he spoke, a small smile came to his face, as if he'd expected me to show interest in the state of affairs in the sector and among the Mando'ade.

"Please pass him my thanks." I knew Pre disliked, if not downright hated me, so him having to provide this would've rankled, as would me thanking him for it. "And thank you again for the attempt to locate those who've taken my ad and earned my wrath."

Adonai nodded. "Oya!"

… …

… …
The swirling energies of hyperspace peeled back, placing us in a minor system that was known only by a simple code. According to Hondo's contact, the only habitable world in the system, which had been turned into a scrap world several centuries ago, was used by a handful of Trandoshan groups for blooding their younglings.

As the hum of the hyperdrive faded into silence and Raven's course shifted toward the system's radiant star, I closed my eyes and extended my senses into the ethereal currents of the Force. Even as I trod carefully, mindful of the awe-inspiring web that wove together every mote of stardust and celestial fire, I sought the truth of Anakin's presence.

A moment later, I opened my eyes and spoke softly, "He's here." Though the precise location eluded me, for I was not yet ready to plunge fully into the Force's boundless depths before achieving my own balance, I felt with certainty that we were in the right system.

Simvyl grunted, surprised that Hondo's contact had come through. Said Weequay was in his cabin with HK outside to ensure the pirate didn't try anything stupid. When we'd met the contact, Hondo had suggested that it would be wiser if he remained with the contact – a Quarren who was missing some of its facial tentacles – but hadn't complained too loudly when I'd made clear that wasn't happening as I didn't trust him.

HK would deploy with us when we located the Trandoshan vessel, while R2 remained behind, guarding Hondo in his cabin. Thanks to an upgrade Anakin had installed before his abduction, the astromech was equipped with a device akin to a cattle prod, with orders to render the Weequay a quivering mess should he dare to step outside his room while we were away. I had considered leaving a more intimidating presence behind, but I wanted to bring the full force of my command to bear on this mission.

Though originally designed as an assassin droid, HK's new frame had transformed him into a formidable war droid. Fenrir, perhaps sensing the disturbance in our pack caused by Anakin's capture and the absence of a vital member, had been restless since the event. I could sense his longing to tear into Trandoshan flesh, though I hoped he avoided any ill effects from whatever unsavoury locations those beasts might have frequented.

Simvyl would also accompany us. Despite my initial thoughts of leaving him behind, his unyielding resolve since Anakin's capture, combined with his blunt insistence on joining us, left no room for doubt. He had a personal vendetta against the Trandoshans, and I was not about to deny him the chance for retribution. His belief that Anakin's capture was his failure—a sentiment confirmed by Observe even after I absolved him of guilt—fuelled his desire for atonement. Furthermore, his presence would ensure we fought as a cohesive unit, something we hadn't done since HK's reassembly.

How the battle on the scrap world would go, I didn't yet know, but one order of battle had been made clear. I wanted as many lizards as possible taken alive. Researching their beliefs had revealed that if they were captured, then all the points they'd earned with the Scorekeeper were wiped clean. To be killed without any points, and thus face their god a failure as a hunter, was the single greatest fear the species had, and, depending on how and when the lizard lost their points, their entire clutch could be outcast from the culture.

Before each of those filthy beasts met their end, I wanted them to grasp the full weight of their transgression. They would understand the depth of their error in taking my son, in daring to challenge my family. I wanted them to be consumed by fear, to tremble before the wrath of their so-called god—however hollow that deity might be—before they drew their last breath. The only uncertainty gnawing at me was whether I would deliver their final judgement myself or bestow that honour upon HK or Simvyl.

I knew many, including the Jedi, would condemn my resolve to execute prisoners, but I cared little for their opinions. This was not merely an act of vengeance; it was a necessity. Keeping the lizards alive would burden governments with managing them, resources that could be better spent elsewhere. And if their punishment were lenient—which I had little doubt it would be—then we would be allowing a potential threat to re-emerge. I had no fear of these reptiles, not unless their entire race united against me, but letting a potential danger fester was a grave mistake, especially with far greater threats looming on the horizon.

The Banite Sith already had, without the Jedi even realising it, taken control of the Republic. All that remained, at least in the minds of Sidious and Plagueis, was bringing about the destruction of the Jedi, the shattering of the Republic, and the rise of the Empire Darth Bane had begun the planning for nearly a millennium ago.

Perhaps the Jedi could change enough to see the threat, perhaps, if I'd fully committed to their ways, they'd stand a chance. However, I'd known for a long time my path wasn't with the Order, and with Anakin as my Padawan, neither was his. All I could hope was that, when the time came for the truth of Sidious and Plagueis to be revealed, the Order as a whole would be able to at least help Anakin and me defeat the threat the Banite Sith posed.

Raven was surging toward the only habitable planet in the system, hope rising from her as she understood Anakin was close. Beneath that, merging with my desires, was a need to find those who'd taken Anakin from us and make them pay. I couldn't help but smile at sensing that. Raven was changing in ways I'd never considered possible, and if I'd not taken Natural Selection, inadvertently strengthening our bond, she might not have done so.

She wasn't sentient, not even as Fenrir was, nor was she growing bigger or stronger, but the spark of natural intelligence, of evolution, was there. My thinking had always influenced her, but since the change in my connection to the Force, that influence had grown, though not in a way that might destroy what made her unique.

My thoughts drifted to the seething tempest that resided within me. As I grappled with my meditation, seeking to embrace the shadows of the power I harboured and the path it might carve, I could discern a glimmer of progress. The voices that once roared for the annihilation of every Trandoshan in the galaxy for Anakin's suffering were no longer as deafening. Nor did the whispers urging me to seize whatever I desired echo with the same intensity. They lingered still, a chorus of temptation, but I had learned to subdue them, to impose my will upon their discord. This, I hoped, signified that Adas' teachings were beginning to take root, offering the hope that Raven might remain untainted by the demons within.
Yet, the true measure of my meditation's efficacy would reveal itself in a few hours, when the first walking lizard steak crossed my vision.

… …

… …
(Anakin's POV)
He smiled as an explosion reached his ears. Those with him panicked, caught unprepared for the sound, but when Anakin waved them to stay low they did so, and a moment later the shockwave of the explosion rushed past them. Where they were, about three mounds of debris away from where the make-shift bomb had ignited and below the crest of the mound, meant they barely felt the ripples in the air, but they still had to be cautious of the dust that was ripped upward by the shockwave.

As the concussive wave passed, and the dust began to settle, he sensed the excitement of the others. "Shh!" He hissed while keeping his voice low before any of them could shout in celebration that his trap had worked. While it was unlikely that the sound would reach the Trandoshans, any beasts that remained with them, or whatever tech they were using to hunt Anakin and his friends, he wasn't willing to make things easier on them by allowing the other kids to give away their location, not after the first time a trap of his had worked.

Before he could still the rising clamour, Plirs had called out in delight, and Anakin's sharp reprimand followed swiftly. However, their tension was abruptly cut short by the distant growl of approaching hounds. In a frantic scramble, they attempted to flee, but Eshie had slipped down a mound, becoming ensnared beneath shifting debris. Anakin rushed to her aid, his mind already reaching out with the Force to free her from the rubble. Yet just as he prepared to act, the first lizard came into sight.

It was only through the rigorous training with Cam, Master Dooku, and Instructor Kefe that Anakin managed to evade the incoming bolts. His hasty retreat led him and the others to the far side of the mound. Amidst the chaos, Eshie's desperate cries pierced the air, calling for his help. But Anakin understood the harsh truth—rescuing her would endanger everyone else. The others, displeased with the decision to leave her behind, blamed him for failing to uphold his vow of protection. Despite their discontent, they followed him still, their trust wavering but unbroken.

The pain of experiencing Eshie's death through the Force, and his fury at himself for failing her, and the lizards for hunting them had dominated his thoughts ever since, and he'd struggled to get a good rest whenever they stopped. Knowing that he'd see her panicked face, and relive her final screams if he closed his eyes, Anakin had thrown himself into creating more traps, with the one that had just detonated being the fifth trap since that first one, around three days ago. While not all of the traps had gone off, they had slowed the Trandoshans, and those that had gone off had wounded or killed several of the creatures hunting them.

The first trap had been a lucky find as Snaxiu, a Rodian, had spotted a downed fighter. There had been a moment of hope that they could get it flying, but once Anakin examined the Cloakshape fighter, he knew it was unsalvageable. Still, whoever had sent it to this junk world hadn't stripped it for everything of value, as the reactor core still contained some fuel.

Anakin had started the engines and disabled the overrides, knowing it would lead to the fighter exploding, and they'd scrambled away, leaving it for the Trandoshans to find. While Anakin didn't think it had killed any of them, the number of beasts had decreased ever since, and that had helped as not only were the lizards more cautious from then on, but they kept their beast on leashes. Anakin had discovered that when, as they moved through one particularly large mound of debris, he'd seen a pair of beasts all but dragging their lizard handlers forward.

The second and third traps were less flashy, and more a case of him and the other kids moving debris around to create pits and unstable piles. The first of those simple traps hadn't seemingly done anything, but the second one had. Or at least the unstable powercell Lena, a human girl, had discovered and given to Anakin, had detonated.

The fourth trap had been something slightly more complicated, using a tripwire and makeshift grenade. It had detonated but Anakin hadn't sensed anyone in pain or suffering from the explosion, so he assumed it had failed. The fifth, having just detonated, had been successful, and Anakin smiled as he sensed the life of at least one Trandoshan fade into the Force.

Anakin had felt the pain of the Trandoshans whenever a trap had worked, even felt some passing away through the Force, and while he knew he shouldn't – as it was not the Jedi way – he had enjoyed causing those hunting him and his remaining friend's pain. To let them experience some of the suffering he and the other kids were enduring because of the lizards. Anakin knew Cam wouldn't scold him for taking pleasure in the Trandoshan's pain. Cam, while he tried to keep the feelings hidden from him, hated the race with a passion. Until recently Anakin hadn't understood why Cam had despised the race, but after nearly two weeks under their care – on their ship and now being hunted on this junkworld – he was beginning to agree that Trandoshans were nothing but trouble. Even more so than he'd believed before they'd captured him.

The other side to it was that Anakin, through Cam, was a Mandalorian, and as he had said, no warrior should go down without a fight. While he knew that he couldn't win, that eventually he and those with him would run out of time, tricks, and space, Anakin intended to make sure that the lizards paid in blood. And then, when Cam arrived – as Anakin knew he would – those that remained would understand the mistake they had of capturing and hunting children. Just as Decca would one day die at Anakin's hands for killing his mother.

Anakin closed his eyes for a moment, bringing forth the last happy memory he had of her, drawing hope from it. He missed her dearly, but even if he didn't like that she was gone, he'd accepted her death. It was the natural state of the galaxy. Something Cam, Bo, and Master Dooku had explained, though each used vastly different words to say that. His mother lived on through him and Lia, and Anakin had sworn on his first night on this world that he'd see his sister again.

"Come on," he said sharply to the other kids with him, knowing they couldn't linger here, nor could he let himself be distracted by thinking too long on his mother, Lia, or Cam. That, as Cam and Bo had preached, only led to you missing something important in the here and now, leaving you exposed to danger, and Anakin had enough of that already.

As the trio of kids still with him started moving as well, Anakin paused, sensing a shift in the Force. Looking upward, he smiled as a familiar presence reached out to him. Cam was near, perhaps even in the system. Anakin wished he knew how to communicate with Cam through the Force, but that wasn't something he'd yet displayed the ability to do. Instead, he closed his eyes and, as best he could, broadcast into the Force. Cam should be able to sense it and focus on his location.

Once his eyes opened, Anakin felt himself fill with renewed hope. Soon, very soon, he'd be reunited with his father, and then the Trandoshans would pay for their mistakes. All Anakin had to do until then was ensure that he, and his new friends, remained alive and free.

The latest trap had only been maybe an hour behind them, so they didn't have much distance between themselves and the lizards, but Anakin knew that he'd do everything he could to ensure those beasts couldn't capture them.

… …

… …
(Cam's POV)
I watched carefully, tracking the movements of the Trandoshans outside their vessel. The vessel was the same one that had taken Anakin from me, as the damaged sublight engine and scorch marks along the hull were easily visible to the HUD. Through the Battlenet I was receiving feed from HK and Simvyl who were approaching the vessel from the other side so that we'd catch those outside, and any exiting the ramp, in a crossfire. That said, I didn't plan on gunning them all down from a distance.

As the HUD traced the movements of the Trandoshans outside, a deep well of fury began to churn within me. Though the ease I was able to do so was recent, I wrestled it down, channelling that primal rage into purpose rather than succumbing to the baser demands of the Force. I harboured no illusions; the Trandoshans were destined to suffer, to die, but their demise would come only after they grasped the depth of their transgression and surrendered every fragment of knowledge they possessed.

Anakin's presence was a distant echo, lingering hundreds of kilometres to the southwest, but his armour was here, or at least most of it. The moment we breached the atmosphere, my Battlenet had linked to his, and I would not leave it to the whims of these wretched beings.

"Steady," I commanded, placing a firm hand on Fenrir's head as he approached with a low growl. His yearning for combat, for the taste of enemy flesh, was palpable, and though I would not deny him his desire, I ensured he remained still until the moment was right.

Time was scarce. I sensed a dozen souls near Anakin, most of whom were little more than targets eagerly awaited to be erased from existence. Yet, some were not. I could not afford to let this vessel or its occupants linger as a threat or offer any chance of escape before I reunited with my ad. Such risks were intolerable.

The idea to simply attack them from Raven, letting her missiles obliterate the vessel and remaining crew had been considered but discarded. That wasn't guaranteed to take the ship out instantly, and it was probable that any who survived the first volley of missiles would alert the others, and that was if they didn't have some open channel to the vessel in place as I would do in their situation.

Using the Force to Teleport closer, or even from orbit as I'd done on Mandalore at the start of the civil war was also discarded. I hadn't even started remastering that ability, though it was one I would regain before the time came to leave the Jedi. It might have limitations for combat use, but the ability to traverse vast distances – or at least what I could see or sense nearby – in an instant wasn't something to cast aside and forget. Something, I had to admit, I'd done far too often in the years leading up to taking Natural Selection and freeing my connection to the Force from the Interface.

A growl, one worthy of the tuk'ata at my side, slipped from my lips, though none heard it because of my sealed armour. A new lizard had emerged from the ship, and moved to place a head – that of a young Togruta with purple skin – on a pike, placing it beside ten others. Those were their trophies, the victims of the lizard's deranged and unworthy beliefs. The children had died horribly and painfully – the expressions on each head made that clear – and while they deserved a proper burial, which they would get, those who had inflicted such terror on them before killing them deserved death.

A signal in the Battlenet told me HK and Simvyl had their targets, the pair knowing that they weren't to go for outright kill shots. I wanted the Trandoshans alive and in chains before they died. I wanted them to understand their folly before I ripped what I needed from them and their ship.

The moment the vessel was secure, Raven would arrive. While we raced to Anakin, R2 and Hondo would remain behind, the droid to access the vessel's core, and the Weequay because I wasn't leaving him alone on Raven.

That came after though, now it was time to hunt those who deserved a painful death.

"Oya!" The command echoed through the Battlenet, a primal cry that shattered the silence of impending conflict. I summoned the fury that roared within me, channelling it into a relentless force that surged forth like a storm unleashed. My will carved through the chaos, casting a shadow over the battlefield, imbuing the very universe with a stark, unyielding claim: this world was mine.

… …

… …
(Anakin's POV)

He halted abruptly, the Force twisting and churning around them. It wasn't just a disturbance near them but a shadow sweeping across the very planet.

"What's wrong?" Plirs's voice was a sharp whisper, betraying his alarm as Anakin fixed his gaze eastward, toward where the Trandoshan ship lay hidden. Anakin's response was silence, his focus turned inward, reaching into the depths of the Force.

The shift in the Force was unmistakable—it was Cam's presence, but it pulsed with a weight and gravity unlike anything Anakin had felt before. The familiar essence of his father was there, but now it radiated an oppressive power, a storm so fierce it threatened to overwhelm everything in its proximity. Beneath this tempest, there was an eerie silence, a void that swallowed all else.

When Cam had tried to save him on the station, Anakin had felt the raw might of his father's power—unleashed like a sandstorm, ruthless and all-consuming, a force capable of eradicating everything it touched.

Now, however, this power was different. It was immense, its presence nearly all-encompassing, yet it was concentrated, almost refined. At the eye of this relentless storm, there was an unsettling emptiness, as if Cam's connection to the Force had been devour-

"Wh-what's happening?!"

Anakin pulled his thoughts back to his surroundings and looked down at Lena. She'd been the one to speak and was now looking pale, as were Plirs and Snaxiu or at least as pale as they could for their species.

"What's wrong?" He asked, wondering if they could sense whatever it was Cam was doing within the Force. He'd not felt any of them had a strong connection to the Force, but perhaps Cam's actions were affecting more than just those who could touch the Force.

"I…" she paused, shivering as if they were on some frozen wasteland instead of in the middle of a temperature junk field. "I don't know. I feel cold."

"Me too," Plirs added to which Snaxiu nodded.

"It's C… my father," Anakin said, changing his answer mid-sentence into something the others might understand. "He can use the Force though he's far better at it than I am."

"H-he's here?" Snaxiu asked, surprised that help was coming in his voice.

"Yes. We just have to keep moving," Anakin replied, wishing they'd start moving again. Yes, He'd been the one who'd stopped first, but that had been a mistake. The Trandoshans were close behind, but at least they didn't have the last two beasts to help them track him and his friends.

Turning, not wanting them to remain still any longer, he resumed moving, his mind turning back to how he'd taken out the beasts. It'd happened earlier today, and the lizards controlling the hounds had flanked them, cutting them off from a way they wanted to go by climbing over a large mound of debris. Knowing they couldn't escape the beasts before they rushed down at them, not with the lizards readying their blasters, Anakin had panicked, which was when the Force had responded.

The voices deep inside him had made clear that he wasn't meant to die here; that he was destined for greater things alongside Cam. They told him to act, to keep himself safe. Not fully understanding how he knew what to do, or that it would work, He'd thrust out his arms, willing the Force to help him.

It had done so as the mound the beasts and lizards had been standing on shuddered. The group had stumbled, unsure of their footing and then fell back, going over the crest of the mount; back to where they'd come from. Anakin hadn't stopped there though, and remembering the lessons on using the Force to push objects, and put every ounce of desire he could into ensuring the Trandoshans didn't get up quickly, or that the beasts they'd brought with them didn't rush after them in the chaos that was unfolding.

The Force had responded, and the mound those hunting him and his friends had been one shifted. He'd not seen what had happened on the other side to cause it, but one moment the mound had been there, and the next it moved backwards, flattening out and burying those on the other side.

He'd managed to get the others moving, not wanting them to remain where they were and be attacked by the main group of Trandoshans hunting them. Though as they'd scrambled away, the trio had asked what had happened. Wanting the matter handled, or at least them to stop talking so loudly while they were being tracked, he'd told them he could use the Force. That he was both Mandalorian and Jedi.

They'd struggled to believe him, but as he'd kept moving quickly to stay ahead of the lizards, and they'd not wanted to fall behind it had quietened any questions they might have.

"Is he a Jedi?" Lena asked as they moved around one mound, not going over the peak and thus exposing themselves to fire if any Trandoshan saw them break the skyline.

"Yes," Anakin replied, feeling a smile come to his face. "He's a really powerful Jedi and a respected warrior."

"You're just saying that because he's your dad."

Anakin ignored Plirs. The Weequay was right that Anakin was going over the top, but Cam was powerful. And one day, he'd be just as powerful, if not more so. That day wouldn't come if he died before Cam could reach them, which meant focusing, as Master Dooku would put it, on the present and what was, and not on the future and what might be.

After ensuring his friends were behind him, Anakin cast a final glance back to where he knew Cam was. The change in Cam was incredible, and Anakin would be lying if it didn't frighten him a little, but he understood that he, by being kidnapped by the Trandoshans, was the source of that change. Because of that, he found renewed courage to keep pushing forward. It would only be a few hours at most until Cam reached them, and then they'd finally be free of this Hutt-spawn of a world.

… …

… …
(Cam's POV)
I leaned back, moving before the vibroblade swinging toward me had even gained much momentum. A slight shift in stance and my hand thrust out, grasping the blade.

The beast holding the weapon grunted, surprised that I'd stopped the attack so easily growing when I twisted my arm to the side, my beskar limb and the mechanics within granting me the strength to shatter his weapon.

Using the movement of one arm, I stepped forward with my other foot. The lizard grunted as my beskad thrust into its gut. A twist of the hilt and as I withdrew the blade, the tip severed the creature's spine.

It fell to the ground, the strings of its legs cut, along with an arm as I flicked my blade down, severing the muscles at the shoulder. The limb hung pathetically, offering no help as the beast fell to the ground upon the destroyed arm.

As I turned, seeking my next victim, a scream filled the air. Looking toward the sound I saw Fenrir's maw rattle to one side, most of another lizard's leg removed by his bite.

The beast threw a punch at the tuk'ata, driving Fenrir away for a moment. Before it could attack again, a bolt slammed into the shoulder, sending it tumbling to the ground. "Fenrir!" I called out as the tuk'ata spat out the chuck in his mouth, anger at the punch and a desire for vengeance flooding from him into the Force. "Alive!"

Fenrir shook, his snarling maw closing, and the wounded and down lizard felt it was safe. A false hope, which was proven when Fenrir pounced. The claws on his front paws easily embedded themselves in the lizard's chest and drove it backwards awkwardly.

Another scream from the lizard filled the air even as the HUD alerted me to a nearing Trandoshan from the ship. A blaster rang out, and the lizard – in the middle of its charge – fell forward.

The lizard fell, a bolt from HK catching both legs as the knees of the lizard Fenrir had pounced on cracked under the combined mass.

I smiled at the chaos, Simvyl pulling his vibroblade from the back of the final unwounded target. A minute had passed since we'd attacked, and the battle was over. Though calling it a battle would be an insult to our skill. This was a culling; one I was enjoying.

"Wh…" the lizard at my feet struggled to speak over the pain that bled into the Force more freely than its blood onto the dirt of this scrapheap of a planet. "What do you want?"

I looked down at the prey, savouring the fear I saw in the beast's eyes even as its remaining good hand clutched desperately to stem the blood flowing from its stomach. "That is a very long list," I replied, using the tip of my beskad to lift the creature's chin, forcing it to lift its head while I spoke to it. "All that concerns you is that you tell me where my son is before you die."

The creature's face twisted, hatred flowing freely from it as it understood it was going to die. "Don't know," it got out with pained breaths. "Wouldn't tell you if I did."

My free hand, the one coated in beskar, stretched out and I closed my fingers. The beast began gasping; the Force restricting its throat. "I was hoping you might say that." I smiled under my helmet, enjoying the look of panic that dominated the beast's eyes as it struggled to understand what I was doing.

While it continued to thrash against the lack of air entering its lungs, I secured my beskad against my lower back and then reached into a pouch on my belt. Around me, HK emerged into the clearing, his blaster singing out still, targeting the limbs of any lizard that still worked. Simvyl had secured his first walking handbag while Fenrir continued to pin his prey to the ground.

"Wh-wh-at ar…" The lizard stopped as my hand removed itself from the pouch and revealed restraining cuffs. The panic in the lizard's eyes turned to delicious fear as I pulled out restraining cuffs, and it began thrashing wildly. Or as wildly as it could with its legs and one arm immobile. "No! You c-an-t!" It bellowed; terror swarming its tone as I moved toward it.

"I can and am," I said as I moved closer, the fingers on my replacement limb closing slowly, cutting off the air to the beast's lungs. It was harder to focus the Force through the replacement, but since all I was doing was ensuring this pathetic creature couldn't attempt any pitiful escape, there was no issue.

Kneeling I slammed the cuff onto the flailing, useless arm. The other arm came up, in an abysmal attempt at an attack. My beskar hand moved, catching the fist. "That was unwise," I said slowly, increasing the pressure on the limb. Because of the mechanics inside, the limb was capable of deforming durasteel.

"Arrgh!" the beast screamed. With bones far more brittle than durasteel, they shattered and cracked loudly as I crushed the hand.

Once sure the offending limb was destroyed, I attached the other cuff to the wrist. "Consider yourself lucky that I don't have longer to entertain myself," I said with a vicious smile. As I stood, my flesh and blood hand moved around, exposing the palm to the beast's head. "And that what is to come won't last anywhere near as long as it should."

The beast's lips parted, poised to utter a question or a curse, but all that emerged was a guttural, pained groan. For a fleeting moment, the Force seemed to wrestle against my will, but soon I bent it to my purpose, shattering my way into the beast's mind. Though the ship promised valuable intel, I knew that the most crucial secrets lay hidden within the crew's thoughts. This would inflict agony on the creature before me, and after the suffering they had wrought, pain was the least they deserved before they were dispatched to confront their god.

… …

… …
(Anakin's POV)
"Kriff!"

The curse flowed easily from Anakin as he looked around in panic, seeing if there was any path they could take that would get them out of the dead-end they'd stumbled into. The Trandoshans were right on their tail, following along the faint path that led between two mounds of debris into the small enclosure Anakin and his friends had found themselves herded over.

When they'd rounded the corner, he slid to a stop, understanding what the Trandoshans had been doing, and cursed himself for falling into their trap. He understood now, far too late, that the Force had tried to warn him, but in his haste to ensure he and his friends stayed clear of those hunting them, he'd ignored it and rushed down the small path instead of attempting to traverse either pile of trash that sat at the side of the path. Because of his mistake, they were now trapped.

The path ended before a circle of debris, each mound far too high and unstable for them to climb over before the lizards emerged down the path. They might also be waiting for him to lead his friends over the peaks, and likely had rifles trained on the area, ready to either kill any who tried to escape or drive them back to the ground, leaving them easy pickings from the group just behind.

"What do we do?" Lena's panicked voice matched the fear he could sense from Plirs and Snaxiu.

Anakin didn't reply instead he had an idea. Closing his eyes, he dove inward, finding the Force within himself. At the same time, he sensed where the Trandoshans were, sensing that a group of six were coming down the path. Understanding that there were no beasts with them, nor did it seem as if any were moving to either side, Anakin lifted his hands.

"Got y…"

Whatever the lead Trandoshan was about to say was cut off as the Force did as Anakin wished. Opening his eyes, he saw that the ground between him and the aliens had exploded toward them; debris of various sizes and shapes hurtling toward the alien, taking it off its feet.

"Hurry!" Anakin shouted, turning to his friends. The trio were looking on in shock at what had just happened, their minds unable to understand what he'd done. They might know he was a Jedi, but they'd never seen it displayed like that. Nor had Anakin ever used it like that, but with no choice, and the whispers saying if he didn't do something his friends would die, and he'd never see Cam, Lia, or anyone else ever again, Anakin had acted.

A push on Plirs had the group moving, though before they could begin climbing the junk hill blocking their escape, blaster fire entered the area. Lena screamed, all but dropping to the ground, and after pushing Plirs toward Snaxiu, trusting the Force saying they'd be safe, Anakin moved to Lena.

Grabbing her arms, and ignoring her groans, he pulled her toward what looked like an overturned speeder. As they darted behind the cover, bolts slammed into it, causing Lena to let out a panicked scream. "What do we do?" She asked again, her voice barely reaching his ears even though he was sure she'd shouted the words.

Anakin looked around, trying to find something that he could use even as he desperately tried to ignore the flood of terror surging from Lena, as it and similar sensations from Plirs and Snaxiu started to overwhelm his connection to the Force. Seeing there was nothing nearby to use, he reached into his pocket, pulling out whatever pieces of junk he'd gathered and not yet used.

As he placed them on the ground, he closed his eyes and slowed his breathing. The training, first with Master Dooku, and then with Instructor Kefe, had taught him to focus only on what mattered and push aside everything else. Lena's voice, the sound of bolts slamming into their cover, and everything else around him faded away. All that remained was the sound of his slowed, calm breathing and the junk in front of him.

His hands moved over the pile, guided without conscious thought as they moved pieces around, melding them together. Time became irrelevant as he worked, the junk slowly changing, forming something that he knew would be of use.

Once the creation was finished the moment of clarity passed, and he picked up what he'd made. He knew it was a bomb, though one that would likely explode if shaken badly. Given their location, that wasn't a major worry, and he turned to Lena, offering a wide, and he hoped reassuring, smile. "Trust me!" He called out, not sure she'd hear him of the chaos of bolts slamming into everything around them.

Without waiting for a reply, he seized the freshly crafted bomb and edged toward the lip of the overturned speeder they sheltered behind. "I can do this," he murmured to himself, his voice barely a breath. Closing his eyes, he summoned the Force, channelling its raw power to sharpen his senses, quicken his reflexes, and clear his mind. Master Dooku, Cam, and Instructor Kefe had each imparted their wisdom in their own way, but the essence remained the same.

He felt the Force surge through him, bending to his will, fortifying his body for the task ahead. When he opened his eyes, Lena's screams pierced the air—twisted and distorted, deeper and more chilling than they should have been. A blaster bolt whizzed past their cover, its energy rippling in slow motion as it narrowly missed.

A grim smile flickered across his face, a sign that he was in tune with what needed to be done. Trusting in himself and the Force, he emerged from cover. The arm clutching the bomb drew back, primed to launch his creation at the lizards. Amidst the chaos, he glimpsed Plirs and Snaxiu huddled behind the wreckage of what appeared to be a Z-80 fighter. He couldn't afford to fail them; he demanded the Force's aid with unyielding resolve.

His gaze turned toward the source of the blaster fire, but before he saw them, he knew where they were. The Force was helping him as he wanted, marking out a threat before he knew where it was.

His arm came around, the Force enhancing the muscles in the limb, and the bomb sailed away, arcing toward the centre of the Trandoshan position. He pulled back once his creation was airborne, not wanting to be exposed to the explosion. As he pressed his back against the speeder, and pulled Lena back, Anakin felt the Force shifting.

His smile widened as a cold, almost oppressive aura rushed toward them. Cam was nearby. It wouldn't be long before…

His eyes widened as the Force warned him of danger and without thinking, he pulled Lena down. A moment later, as his mouth tasted the dirt of the planet, his device exploded. The speeder they'd been using for cover was lifted off the ground; the damage taken by the bolts having weakened it enough that when the shockwave struck it, it shattered.

Lena shrieked and Anakin knew she'd been hurt by some of the debris from the speeder. Anakin had felt some of it strike his back, but the armour there had done its job, and nothing felt broken or bleeding. Still, the cloud of dust driven over them by the explosions forced his face into the dirt again, and as it faded he started coughing, trying desperately to clear his mouth and lungs before the Trandoshans recovered.

He pushed himself upward, the Force warning him of a new, more violent danger, yet before he could turn to see what was approaching or check on Lena, something grabbed his back, and he was hauled up. A second later he was soaring through the air and crashed to the ground. The air was driven from his lungs as his back bore the brunt of the landing, and he bounced away, ending up on his side.

Before he could move or think, something slammed into his chest. The armour took the brunt of the blow, but whatever air was still in his lungs was driven out and he started coughing even as another blow struck him. A third and fourth blow came in, all striking his chest though the last blow was a touch lower, the armour only taking some of the strike.

"Oof!" he gasped out, feeling something inside him crack, though he had no time to think on it as someone grabbed his armour and he was hauled upward.

With his legs dangling, he found himself staring at the enraged expression of one of the lizards. "You little schutta!" It snarled; razors-sharp teeth clashing against each other it spoke. "You killed my brother!"

Before Anakin could react, he was slammed to the ground. "Ugh!" he grunted as he hit the dirt, his leg twisting painfully but mercifully not breaking. The air around him grew cold and suffocating, each breath a struggle as he fought to regain his footing and brace for the next assault.

"You're nothing more than prey! Stop pretending otherwise!" The beast roared, stepping toward him as it pulled a long, curved blade from its belt. Anakin scrambled back, trying to get away from the creature, but it was faster, and its foot came out; the toe of the boot striking him in his knee, causing him to slump to the ground again. "This hunt is about to end!"

Anakin looked around the Trandoshan and panicked as he saw his friends being dragged together. All three were screaming in fear, though Plirs was at least trying to escape while the other two seemed broken.

He pulled himself to his knees, his chest hurting with each breath even as the Force willed, demanded, he stand. The voices in his mind grew louder, telling him that if he didn't do something, they'd all die soon. He closed his eyes, commanding the Force to help him. He felt it move around him, readying itself for his command.

"There is but one upside to the chaos you've caused," the Trandoshan that had attacked him snarled as it moved closer. "You will be worth more to the Scorekeeper."

Anakin lifted an arm, wanting to strike at the lizard, but his action was too slow, too weak. The beast grasped him by the hair and lifted him painfully upward. Anakin's legs swung out, trying desperately to kick the creature even as he watched the other beasts circle his friends.

"NO!" He shouted as a lizard moved close to Plirs, a blood-stained blade in-hand. "LEAVE THEM ALONE!" The creature holding him laughed, and he was tossed down, landing face-first because he'd been trying to kick the creature as it let him go.

"The hunt is over. You will be presented to the Scorekeeper." Anakin looked over at the new speaker even as the one who'd been attacking and tormenting him stalked closer. That was the same one who'd spoken to him after his capture and was the elder of the group. What Anakin saw now though was the similarities between the leader and the one who was reaching down to grab him. "The Mandalorian is a worthy first kill, my child," the leader spoke as the one approaching him stopped. "Prove your worth by ending its mewing."

The younger lizard turned to the elder and lowered its head. "Yes, father." It then turned back to him, letting Anakin see that the blade in its hand wasn't a vibroblade. It was simpler, meaning any cut from it, like those from Cam's beskad, wouldn't do as much damage, allowing a target to stay alive longer.

As the Trandoshans advanced, blades raised to slaughter his comrades, Anakin's gaze met theirs. They looked to him for salvation, but uncertainty gnawed at him.

The whispers crescendoed in his mind, a haunting symphony of dread.

'Was he going to let his friends die like his mother?'

'Was he going to let these beasts kill him, and fail Cam?'

'Was he going to leave Lia alone in the galaxy, at the mercy of Decca and other Hutts?'

He closed his eyes, but not to try and force away the voices. He heard them and knew what they offered; what they wanted. The Force was his to command, and he wouldn't let himself and his friends die here. The Trandoshans needed to die; they needed to suffer for what they'd done.

Opening his eyes, he rose to his knees, defiant. The Trandoshan advancing on him faltered, its gaze caught by the steely resolve in Anakin's eyes. It bared its teeth, smirking at his resistance. "Good. You underst—"

The creature's taunt was cut off as Anakin thrust his hands forward. Driven by fury and the terror of failure, he unleashed his wrath.

The Trandoshan was yanked from the ground, hurtling into the air. The other lizards recoiled in shock; some were thrown back as Anakin's target flew further. The beast flailed desperately, its blade slipping from its grasp until it was driven into debris with a savage impact. Metal pierced its chest, pinning it against the wreckage.

Anakin slumped, tired after what he'd done, but a smile came to his face as everyone processed what'd happened.

"NOO!" The scream of the elder Trandoshan caught Anakin's attention, forcing him to forget the enjoyment he'd had in winning. The elder had sunk to its knees, its eyes wide as it looked at the impaled offspring.

Anakin looked at his hands, shocked and proud of what he'd done. He'd saved himself and his friends. Now they just needed to…

"YOU!" The snarled shout of the elder lizard snapped Anakin's train of thought. "YOU KILLED HIM!" It added as it leapt to its feet. Anakin started drawing on the Force again, knowing he had to kill this one as well, and then all the other beasts. But he was tired, downright exhausted. Whatever energy he'd had left was gone after using the Force to attack.

The elder lizard stalked toward him, slowing only to grasp the young beast's blade. "I'll KILL YO…"

The air around Anakin grew suffocatingly dense, the very atmosphere pressing down with a weight that threatened to tear the planet asunder. As the elder Trandoshan staggered, its hands clawing at its throat, Anakin's lips curled into a cold smile. He knew the source of this malevolent pressure—he knew who was at work here.

"You."

The word was a blade, slicing through the veil of fear and doubt. Anakin felt a profound clarity—he was shielded, and the struggle was over. His father had arrived, and the price for their crimes was about to be exacted.

"Will."

The second utterance sent the Trandoshan crumpling to its knees, blood oozing from frantic claw marks. The creature's own madness became its undoing. The other Trandoshans stood paralyzed, their fear of Cam's presence rendering them motionless. Anakin cared not for their terror; his thoughts were only of retribution for Lena, Plirs, and Snaxiu, whose frozen tears mirrored the encroaching storm.

"Not."

With this command, a towering figure emerged, a silhouette of menace. Cam's armour drank in the light, casting a dark halo around him, with only the blood-red visor piercing through the gloom. All eyes turned to this harbinger of doom, except for Anakin's, who felt only a fierce joy and relief. The nightmare would soon end, and they would leave this accursed world behind.

"Touch."

At this word, Cam's fingers closed into a fist. The Force twisted and obeyed, and the elder Trandoshan's convulsions grew more desperate. Cam's other hand revealed a blood-stained beskad, carving a trail of death in the dirt.

"My."

The final command roused the remaining Trandoshans from their stupor. Anakin opened his mouth to shout a warning, but before the lizards could react, bolts exploded through the air. Three of them fell; their legs shattered. The remaining pair was swallowed by a colossal shadow.

"Son."

As Cam spoke the final word, Fenrir descended. The beast's maw gaped wide, engulfing one Trandoshan's torso. A powerful hind leg swept the other lizard aside. As Fenrir's jaws closed around a Trandoshan's arm, two bolts struck the stumbling creature, severing a leg and a hand in a brutal symphony of violence.

The Trandoshan Fenrir had bitten screamed, which turned into a call of terror as the tuk'ata pulled back its head, ripping the lizard's arm clean off. Blood squirted and gushed from the wound, though while Anakin could sense some revulsion and fear coming from his friends, his attention remained on Cam.

He pushed himself to his feet as Cam moved closer, but didn't rush to greet him. Anakin understood that Cam wasn't finished. He couldn't see Cam's eyes, but Anakin knew the gaze was focused on the kneeling Trandoshan, who was still frantically clawing at its neck, trying anything it could to regain its ability to breathe.

Normally, Anakin wouldn't want to watch this. He knew what Cam was doing would be seen as wrong by many, including his mother, but after a week of struggling to stay alive on this world because of that alien, Anakin didn't care. It deserved to suffer before it died. It needed to feel as Eshie and the others had before they were murdered.

Yet, as Cam reached the kneeling alien, Anakin wondered why Cam hadn't already snapped the Trandoshan's neck and ended things.

…
(Cam's POV)
I looked down at the disgusting creature before me, the urge to reduce it to atoms far weaker than I'd feared it might've been. Until landing on this world, I'd not been sure if Adas' meditation techniques were working, but as I looked down at the face of the one I knew was responsible for Anakin's kidnapping, along with those of the other three children – and those children these feral animals had killed – I understood it had. The voices were still there, but now only offered suggestions, not ideas that I felt I had to obey. That was a good thing for me, as I didn't want to lose control and miss out on ensuring the lizard understood the depths of its folly by targeting Anakin. For the Trandoshan, those here with it, and the ones I'd already killed today, it was far from a good outcome.

This creature didn't deserve the quick and painful death the whispers were suggesting I grant it. No, it needed to suffer; its pain and terror needed to last until its mind and body became unable to endure my rage. The others here would also suffer, as those back at their ship had, except now there was no need to rush, no need to push too hard too quickly. I could enjoy what was to come.

I lowered my arm, releasing the beast from the Force's grasp. The hand slipped to my belt, resting comfortably on the hilt of my shoto. While not my main blade, the crystal inside was attuned to me and I could almost sense it wishing to be ignited to help me educate the things before me.

"Wa…" The beast failed pathetically to get a sound out. My fingers began tensing around the hilt of my lightsaber. "What. Are. You?"

I smiled, enjoying each pained breath the thing took trying to put its fear into words.

"Stupid, you are," I said mocking as I knelt in front of the beast. The head tilted to one side, exposing the neck. The urge to flick my blade out and remove the offending thing passed through my thoughts harmlessly. It would die, but not soon and not cleanly. It was unworthy of such a death.

My beskad rose, its tip pointing at Anakin. "I am his father," I declared, the blade drifting beneath the beast's chin, forcing it to lift its head away from the lethal point. "You, and those who follow you, made a fatal error by laying a hand upon him."

The Force warned me of a threat, and the beskad flicked downward. The beast grunted in pain; its resilience evident as I severed three of its fingers before it could reach for the blaster at its hip. "Unwise," I muttered, even as a grim satisfaction welled up inside me. The beast could endure pain, which meant it wouldn't easily succumb to what awaited it. I relished the thought of its forthcoming death. "You will die, as will every one of your minions. Your place in the galaxy is no better than that of a womp rat."

The snarl that had twisted its face, which only heightened my anticipation, faltered. "Womp rat?"

"Indeed," I replied, my voice tinged with amusement as I savoured its confusion. "Though perhaps that's an insult to womp rats." The snarl returned, now edged with a flicker of intelligence, though it remained blind to the gravity of its situation. As long as it clung to the hope of rescue, believing that the ones I had already sent to their gods might come to its aid, its despair would only deepen. The more it hoped, the greater my satisfaction would be when it finally realized that death was all that awaited it.

My beskad flicked out again, slicing through the flesh of the beast's arm. It grunted, showing further, encouraging resilience. "The womp rat understands its place in the universe. You, and these other overgrown lizards, don't. Though I'm more than happy to educate you," I stood as I continued, wanting to be outside the beast's range before I finished. "Just as I did with those on your ship."

The Trandoshan blinked, and I watched in amusement as it processed my words. A growl rose from its throat as it prepared to attack me, and I lifted my hand. The Force bent joyously to my demands as I closed my first. The unmistakable sound of bones shattering was followed by a groan of pain as the untouched arm abruptly buckled.

I chuckled deeply, savouring the pain this thing was feeling, and sensing the first embers of fear forming inside it. Moving forward again, the beskad flicked out. "Soon you'll rejoin your friends," I spat out the word as my blade sliced clean through the animal's limb, cutting the flesh to the bone, and disabling the other arm, "When you greet your god as nothing but a broken, destroyed, and pointless waste."

"Statement:" I turned to HK as he spoke, the HUD having reported he'd emerged into the clearing sooner than I'd expected. "All targets are secure and the astromech reports the last of their vessel's datafiles have been downloaded."

I nodded at the report even as I watched Simvyl step toward a Trandoshan missing both legs. The beast panicked, threatening wildly when it saw the restraining cuffs in the Cathar's hand. Before it could be any threat, Simvyl casually shot it in both shoulders. The bolts weren't enough to remove the limbs, but it rendered them as useless as the beast's missing legs.

"You can't do this!"

I turned back to the elder Trandoshan, aware of the rising fear coming from Anakin's friends even as he looked on patiently. "Oh, but I can," I said to the pitiful defeated creature that lay before me. "And I will. The only remaining question is just how long it takes you to meet your god," I added, not even trying to hold back my fury and disdain for him and his species.

With my piece said, I sheathed my beskad. I'd barely managed that before a euphoric explosion of delight and relief overwhelmed the darkness I was projecting into the Force. As Anakin leapt into my arms, I braced, and caught him easily even as I sunk to a knee, ensuring his feet returned to the ground.

"I knew you'd come," He said as he pressed his head into the nook of my armour. The HUD reported on his condition, but I didn't need that to know he was tired, hungry, and in need of a good, long rest.

"Always for you An'ika," I replied, feeling the rage I'd been focusing on the Trandoshans lift in an instant. Anakin, my son, was safe, and those who'd captured him were nothing but bodies waiting to be destroyed. I felt him sob and patted his back. "It's okay. I'm here."

I held him there, letting him release all the pent-up emotions he'd been carrying for nearly two weeks pour out. "I knew you'd come," he said as I felt his fear of dying, or never seeing me, Lia, or others, or gaining revenge, fade away. A few weeks ago, I'd have been pleased with that, seeing it as a sign he was committing to the Jedi training of accepting what was and not dwelling on his emotions. However, I knew now that it wasn't the path for either of us. That would mean a change in his training, but that, along with a hundred other things, could wait until later.

As I felt him calm, the worst of his emotional turmoil easing, I pulled him back slightly. One hand came from his back, planning to remove my helmet, but before the hand could slip around his body, his hands were already there, and I tilted my head to grant him easier access. A moment later, the hiss of the seal breaking could be heard, and I let him pull my helmet off.

I blinked, adjusting to the unfiltered light of this shithole of a world's sun. Once I recovered, I looked at Anakin and ran a hand through his hair while smiling. "I'm not leaving, An'ika," I said, once more using his Mando'a nickname. "And I'm proud of you."

His head tilted to one side, and I chuckled at his confusion; enjoying the first non-stressed moment I'd had in weeks. "You survived here, without weapons or much training for over a week," I said, giving his hair a ruffle. For what was possibly the first time ever, he didn't scowl at the action. "Plus, you kept others alive," I added, looking past him to the trio of kids cowering together, keeping their distance from me, Fenrir, and the others. "Though perhaps you could introduce us?" As I asked that, I offered the trio a smile and wave, the Weequay being the only one to return the gesture.

I understood why they'd be scared of me. I'd not entered this area gently, and been aggressive toward the Trandoshans, but I didn't regret it. Those beasts needed to understand their place which sure as osik wasn't anywhere near the top of the food chain.

"Oh, right." Anakin turned, looking at his friends though he kept a hand on my armour as if scared I might disappear. "Lena, Snaxiu, Plirs, this is my father, Cameron Shan. Dad, these are my friends."

"Hello there," I said, offering them another wave and widening my smile. "I'm sorry if I scared you with my arrival."

"I-it's ok," Plirs replied slowly. The other two looked at me with wide eyes, taking in my face and armour. From all three the terror was slowly receding, and I understood why they were reluctant to trust me. after so long constantly on the run from the lizards, they were slow to trust anyone not in their group. "Th-thank you."

"There's no need to thank me," I said, keeping my smile wide and voice soft. "I only wish it hadn't taken me so long to find you."

"Yeah, how did you?" Anakin asked as he turned back to me.

I chuckled and shook my head. "A story for another time. First, I want to get all of you onto Raven, and then we'll see about contacting your families."

The trio of kids all looked at me as if I'd grown another head, making clear that they'd all but given up hope of going home. That spiked my anger, though before it could rise and push past the gentle appearance I was projecting, I smashed it down. I'd draw on that fury soon enough once Anakin and his friends were out of sight. They didn't need to see what was coming.

A roar filled the air, and the trio ducked down, huddling together. "That's my ship," I said, using the hand not still resting against Anakin to point upward just as Raven slid into view. "She's not the biggest, but there's sonic showers, fresh food, clean bunks, and provided you're okay with wearing some of Anakin's stuff, fresh clothing."

The trio looked at each other and then at Anakin, making clear he'd assumed command of the group. That made me proud as while I'd not started any training on command, he'd shown initiative in trying to keep his friends safe. I didn't need to ask to know that some of the heads of the murdered children had been with this group when they died, and I'd have to talk with Anakin about losing someone under his command. It was a tricky thing to deal with for someone who formed bonds as easily as he and I did, but overall, I felt he'd done an excellent job in ensuring they survived this long.

"It's fine," Anakin said reassuringly. "Raven's amazing! She's really fast and…" Anakin paused and looked around before turning back to me. "I didn't know R2 could fly her."

I laughed as I realised Anakin didn't know about Raven's evolution. "She's flying by herself now, at least so long as the flight path is simple." Anakin's eyes widened in shock, which drew another bout of laughter from me. "When you were captured she knew I couldn't waste time getting back to her, so it came to me. We still weren't fast enough to stop those beasts from getting away, but it seems you're responsible for her latest growth."

"Wizard!"

While chuckling once again, I ruffled his hair. "Aye, it is." I stood, easily lifting Anakin with one arm. The armour added a decent amount of weight, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle without help. "Fenrir!" I called. The tuk'ata lifted its head, blood from the limb it was chewing on – the lizard it'd come from secured by Simvyl and along with the others under the watchful gaze of HK. "Drop that! You don't know where it's been!" Fenrir shook his head, not wanting to give up his toy. "Get over here." The tuk'ata snorted but did as I asked and after spitting the remains of the arm out and then, with blood flowing over his maw, sauntered over to us.

"Hey boy," Anakin said, lowering the hand not wrapped around me to the tuk'ata. Fenrir leaned into the touch, happy to enjoy Anakin's scratches again.

"Fenrir," he looked up at me, though didn't move away from Anakin's hand, "I need you to escort Anakin and his friends to Raven." I sensed a spark of fear and looked at my son's friends. The trio had pulled back, no doubt concerned by the fearsome impression Fenrir projected with blood matted into his jaw and front paws.

"It's ok, Fenrir's a giant softy. Aren't you?" Fenrir snorted, not liking being called soft, but he made no move away from Anakin's attention, which helped to prove the boy's point.

Without breaking that contact, I moved closer and gently lowered Anakin onto Fenrir's back. The tuk'ata enjoyed carrying around younger children at times, though I'd seen many adults in the Lokella and elsewhere look on in shock and fear at watching the giant beast – his head was at my shoulder if he held it up – walk around like a trained pony.

The trio watched my actions, and how Fenrir accepted Anakin's presence on his back, before sharing a look. As a group, they slowly moved toward the beast, their eyes struggling to see past his blood-soaked mouth. Once they were closer, Lena attentively stretched out a hand. Fenrir stayed still, aware of their fear, and when the hand touched his neck he leaned as softly as he could into the touch.

A short, barking laugh slipped from her lips, only to be stopped when her free hand raced up to cover her mouth. When neither Fenrir nor Anakin reacted to her behaviour, she relaxed and began moving her fingers. Fenrir growled quietly, letting her know he enjoyed the touch. A moment or two later, the two boys added their hands near Lena's and Fenrir beamed with pleasure at the attention.

I couldn't help but laugh at what I was seeing. Fenrir was bred for war, yet all it took to turn him into the galaxy's biggest softy were children in need of protection who wanted to scratch him. "Go on," I said to my friend, giving him a gentle pat on his hip. He turned, giving me a side-eye suggesting he didn't want to move if it meant missing out on scratches. "I'm sure once they've washed and eaten, they'll be happy to keep petting you."

"Yes!" Lena agreed happily, placing her head against Fenrir's neck. "I'll pet you whenever you want until I'm back with my parents," she added.

Fenrir snorted at that and started moving, the kids heading with him. Lena didn't know what she'd just committed herself to, but after what she and the others had endured on this world, I didn't think she'd mind having to spend every waking hour pampering the tuk'ata.

Simvyl offered them a smile as they passed, moving out of the area we were in and toward where Raven was landing. As the group slipped from view, I slid my helmet back on. The rage I'd been keeping constrained hungered for release, and with those I didn't want seeing what I had planned gone, I knew the rage and I would be satisfied before we left this waste of a planet.

A glance inside the helmet sent a command through the HUD. Simvyl turned, heading off with the children as while I knew Fenrir would keep them safe, I wasn't going to risk losing Anakin again. The Cathar did as ordered, happy to make up for any perceived failing when Anakin had been kidnapped as I turned toward the group of lizards.

All were kneeling, wounds bleeding along with wherever they'd lost a limb. Impressively, they all looked aggressive, as if challenging me even though I'd captured them. whatever points for their god that they'd gained throughout their disgusting lives were gone. Under their bravado, I could sense their fear. My words earlier about sending them to the Scorekeeper pointless having the desired effect.

"Now," I said as I slowly moved toward them, bearing down on their leader, "Before your miserable excuse for lives are extinguished, I'd like to know everything you do. I'm told there are other groups like yours prowling this region of the Rim targeting children for your sick sport. I want to know where they are."

"Kriff you Mandalorian!" The leader snapped back. "I'm not telling you anything!"

"I had hoped you'd say that," I said as I moved closer, I lifted my organic hand, showing him my palm. "I find I enjoy this far more when you resist."

The mind of this beast, and those I'd already shredded for intel along with the others here, wasn't a place I wished to enter. It was beneath me. However, it was effective and caused the lizard's incredible pain. Or it did before their mind shattered under my assault.

Already I had enough intelligence that any halfway decent Republic security officer could use, let alone the Mando'ade I planned on hiring to wipe out this rabble. Not just for other hunting parties and the planets they used, but also the locations of a dozen pirate and black-market ports. While I could clean them out myself, I didn't have the time or interest in dealing with such minor matters.

"Now," I said, my voice deepening as I focused every ounce of my rage toward the lizard, demanding the Force assist me in what was to come. "This might hurt a bit, but I'm sure I'll enjoy it."

… …

… …
"A-are you sure it's safe?"

I stood back slightly, letting Anakin deal with Lena as she looked from the two Zeltrons speaking to her to my son. Unlike Plirs and Snaxiu, when we'd gone to the world Lena had been abducted from, we'd not found any remaining family. Instead, we'd come across a dozen ruined buildings. Everyone there had been killed and the building looted and burnt. I wasn't sure if that had taken place during or before the massacre, but regardless of how it had happened, it meant Lena had nowhere to go.

After cleaning up the mess, giving any remains that we found a burial, and then letting Lena see if there was anything for her to salvage and then grieve for her family and friends, we'd left. It had been a long few days since then with Anakin and Fenrir doing their best to help cheer her up. For a while I regretted having killed every lizard before we'd left, as while I knew it wouldn't bring back her family or ease the suffering she, Plirs, and Snaxiu had gone through and would need help recovering from, it would've given them some closure to execute at least one of those responsible for their pain.

Regarding what to do with Lena, I'd quickly dismissed the idea of heading to a nearby Republic world and dropping her off with local child services. Those were always underfunded and lost track of kids so much it was such a disgrace that the Senate and the planet's government chose to ignore the matter. Nor was the idea of adopting her into Clan Shan viable. I had very specific plans for Anakin's training, and Lena lacked anything like the Force potential to make it worthwhile for her to endure the same training. I had considered asking Adonai or Torrhen to adopt her, but I wasn't sure she was ready now – or if she ever would be – to become a warrior. Thus, in the end, I'd reached out to the Lokella, and their council had dispatched a CR70 Corvette to meet me at the orbital station we were now on.

"Yeah. I lived there for a few years before Cam adopted me and began my training," Anakin explained to Lena while wearing as comforting a smile as he could manage. Her hands were resting on Fenrir, the tuk'ata still serving as her comfort blanket as she came to terms with everything that had happened.

"I know this is hard, sweetie, but you won't be the only youngling among our people." That response came from Surmi, as she stood with her twin sister Syshe. The Zeltron pair had chosen to head the group sent to collect Lena, though after last night I suspected the pair had ulterior motives for taking the assignment, not that I was complaining.

"All of us have suffered pain," added Syshe to support her sister's words. "We were once slaves of a Hutt before the Lokella freed us. And now look," she gestured behind her to where their shuttle rested on the other side of the bay from Raven. "We've got command of a ship with which we use to free others from suffering."

"You'll make lots of friends and no one will force you to talk about what's happened. Not if you don't want to." Surmi added the pair was comfortable finishing each other's thoughts when speaking. A skill that extended to other, more pleasurable endeavours. "Maybe one day, if you want to, you could command a starship as well."

"O-okay," Lena said slowly, accepting the Lokella's offer to take her in. I was pleased to hear she'd be going, and my smile grew when she turned to Anakin. "You'll stay in touch?"

"Yes." He coughed gently. "I mean, I'll do so when I can. Cam wants me to continue my training and I'm not sure how long that will take, or where we'll go. But I promise that when I can, I'll call. And not just you but my sister Lia as well."

Lena smiled widely at Anakin, and I could tell the pair would remain friends. Perhaps, in five or six years, it might even become something more, but the future wasn't certain. Not least because of my choices. She turned to the twins and nodded. "Okay. I'll go with you."

The twins shared a look and then approached Lena with matching smiles. "Good," Syshe said before they turned to gesture to a Togruta male who was standing outside their shuttle. "Head to Felxi and he'll get you settled aboard the shuttle. Before we go we'd like to speak with Cam first."

"Anakin, why don't you help Lena with her stuff?" I suggested, sensing the spiking desire from the Zeltrons, and having a hint that he'd not want to be around when they flirted with me. Something they'd been doing heavily since they'd arrived yesterday morning.

Anakin looked between me and the Zeltron twins, both of whom were giving me wide, encouraging smiles. "Yeah, um, I…" He paused and shook his head, clearing some of the redness in his cheeks. "Okay."

I watched him walk off, taking Lena to Raven. Her stuff was already loaded on a hoversled, but getting the pair away gave me the time alone with the twins that I suspected they wanted.

"He's cute when he's flustered."

I turned to Syshe and grinned. "I can call him back if you'd like."

"Oh no," Surmi replied as she and her sister moved toward me. "We much prefer the older model," she added as he reached my left side; Syshe taking the right. They each took one arm, pulling it against their body. "It's powerful, experienced, and has remarkable staying power."

I chuckled as I turned my hands around so my fingers could brush against each girl's exposed midsection. "I do my best," I said as my fingers pinched their skin. "Though as much as I'd enjoy a repeat of last night…"

"So would we."

"… I need to return to my travels and training my son."

The Zeltrons smiled. "It's okay," Syshe said as they moved closer.

"We understand," Surmi added before they each kissed one of my cheeks. "Though we look forward to when we might next partake in the pleasures of the flesh."

"Perhaps you might ask your Jedi and Mandalorian friends to join us."

I chuckled, enjoying the rush of mental images that thought created. Bo would be more than happy to experience what the Zeltrons could do. Force, I was still in awe of several of the tricks they'd used against me last night. Serra, however, was another matter, and not just because of her recovering from the death of Drallig and being taken on by Windu.

"We can but hope," I said before offering first Syshe and then Surmi a tender kiss. That was the reverse order of the last act we'd shared last night – well, technically this morning given how long we'd been enjoying ourselves – and I made sure to never favour one sister over the other. Something they seemed to appreciate.

"Until next time M'tael," Surmi said as Syshe slipped a hand down and pinched my arse.

I watched the pair as they moved toward their shuttle, escorting Lena and Anakin as they pushed the hoversled toward the craft. Once they reached it, Anakin shared a few final words with Lena, followed by a hug and then turned around and walked back to us.

Taking that as my cue, I turned as well and moved toward Raven. Simvyl was leaning casually against one of her landing gears, though the way his eyes scanned the bay, and a hand rested near a blaster made clear he was anything but unalert to potential danger. While I had forgiven him for what had happened, he still hadn't and was now taking his duties very seriously. Too seriously perhaps, and I wondered if I'd need to drag him to a pleasure house – one where the females weren't slaves – so he could unwind a little.

"How do you do it?" He asked once I was at the base of the ramp.

"Hmm?" I replied as I looked back and then guided Anakin into the ship.

Simvyl looked past me, toward the now departing shuttle and sighed. "A girl on every planet."

"Technically we're not on a planet," I shot back with a smirk.

"You know what I mean."

"Aye, and my answer is… Jedi secret." He rolled his eyes and, understanding I wasn't going to explain, he turned and moved up the ramp after Anakin.

Taking a moment, I turned back and watched the shuttle as it left the bay. Outside the Lokella's CR-70 waited which would take my latest companions back to their people. Truthfully, Syshe and Surmi weren't important to me, unlike Bo and Serra, and when they'd first offered their bed I'd rejected it. I'd only just moved to a more intimate stage with Serra and didn't want to risk that.

Things between me and her were up in the air, and while I hoped that we'd recover what we once had, I wasn't going to sit around and pine after it. I cared deeply for her, but not enough that I'd try and force her to return to my side, or mope around waiting for her to do so. She had the right to choose her path irrespective of mine.

Thinking on Serra and our situation my thoughts turned to the path I was taking my first steps along and Maul. Regarding Maul, I knew one day Serra would learn of my choice to keep the Zabrak alive. How she reacted to that would determine if our paths remained joined or if that was the end of what we shared. I hoped for the former but understood that the latter was possible. Probable even if Windu's teaching before she was knighted sunk in deep enough. However, if I had the chance to do things differently after the battle of Naboo, I wouldn't.

Maul represented a potentially vast reservoir of intelligence—not only about Sidious' schemes but also about the inner workings of the Banite Sith and their broader objectives. He might even be – unlikely though it was – someone whom I could recruit to my cause. At the very least, he could help fill in the countless gaps in my understanding of the Sith's motives, goals, and strategies for eradicating the Jedi.

I was aware that the Clones were pivotal to this plan—at least in the timeline I had witnessed. Yet, there had to be more to their scheme than merely employing them and issuing an Executive Order to annihilate the Order and neutralise them as a threat to the Banite agenda.

Still, I knew it would be some time before I faced Maul again. At least until I felt my skill and power had returned to the point that it had been when I'd managed to capture the Sith Assassin. I had the time to get there. or at least felt I did as it would take Sidious and Plagueis time to consolidate their hold over the upper echelons of the Republic and cultivate a replacement for Dooku.

That alone was perhaps a greater help to granting me the time I needed to train myself and Anakin, but I knew it wouldn't stop the plan indefinitely. That was why, at least before Anakin's kidnapping, I'd spent almost every evening going over the decrypted records from the Scimitar. Maul was smart enough to wipe the astrogation computer regularly, meaning I couldn't determine where he'd travelled before coming to Naboo – though I suspected he'd been on Coruscant as in the other timeline.

The problem was that only about ten per cent of the Scimitar's data had been decrypted, with most of that being the basically empty flight log and data-recorder of when he'd refilled the fuel tanks. If I was only looking at a single planet, then it would be reasonably easy to use that data to determine likely locations that the vessel – and thus Maul – had travelled to. However, with almost an entire galaxy to work with, it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack as big as Coruscant, Corellia, and a dozen other Core worlds combined. HK and R2 were working to crack the encryption on the rest of the Scimitar's files, but they didn't expect to have any success for at least half a year, and that was their most optimistic projection.

Once up Raven's ramp, I moved through her corridors. The ramp was closing before I'd even stepped off it – Raven once more anticipating my needs – and moved toward the cockpit. Our destination wouldn't be Kro Var, as I'd been intending before Anakin's kidnapping, but Eshan.

While we would still be heading at some point to the Shapers, as I wanted to learn what they did with the Force while controlling elemental powers, I felt a more combat-oriented focus would appeal to Anakin after recent events. Plus, it would put my mind at ease to know he knew more ways to defend himself and others.

I could've chosen to go Mandalore and enrol Anakin in the Institute there that Serra and I had joined, however I wanted to broaden my horizons as well. Like Mandalorians, the Echani were regarded as one of the best warrior cultures in the galaxy. The difference was in composition – while a decent majority of Mando'ade were Human, not all were – and the fact the two groups disliked each other intently to the point the Echani had often allied against the Mando'ade in previous wars simply to test themselves against them.

Because of those issues, Anakin and I would be removing most of our armour while there. Some would remain, and even if there were questions about me having armour made of beskar, the fact I could publicly show I was a Jedi – thanks for that belonged to Palpatine who'd ensured I was front and centre when the liberation of Naboo had been a major news cycle – would counter most of those issues. Plus, as the two people hadn't been at war for centuries, and the issues between them were more of attempts to prove which culture was better than any major ideological issue, we shouldn't face too many problems.

It would take us at least a few days to reach Eshan, and during that time I'd speak with Anakin about his ordeal. While we'd had some conversations about it, those had often involved the other kids. Now it was just again, I wondered if he might open up a little about how he'd felt, and what he'd done that he'd not wanted to mention around the other kids. The obvious one was that, just before I arrived to save him and his friends, I'd sensed him drawing on his desire to protect others and make the Force do what he wished.

He needed to know that I wasn't angry about it, nor would I hold it against him. We both just had to be careful of how he handled that experience. He was young and unable to handle his emotions to anywhere near the degree I could, so it would take training to ensure he didn't become unstable in the way I felt Obi-Wan had ignored and then Sidious had exploited in the other timeline.

I wasn't worried about others sensing his mistake with the Dark Side. When I'd gone for him on Tatooine, I'd have struggled to sense him if I'd not been looking for him. While whatever protections he'd naturally developed were weaker because he'd begun his training with the Force, it was still incredibly impressive. To the point that I planned to ask him how he did it. While my defences were decent, any help in improving them wasn't something I was going to ignore.

Plus, while I had little intention of doing it soon, I knew I'd have to return to the Temple and interact with Palpatine and Damask. If I could harness how Anakin kept his Force presence hidden, I could ensure that neither group learnt of the changes I'd undergone or would undergo, when we next met. Otherwise, the moment I set foot on Coruscant, I'd have both groups out to capture, imprison, or kill me.

That would, to be blunt, put a major dent in my plans for the next few decades.

… …

… …
A/N: All's well that ends well. Unless you're a Trandoshan/slaver in which case you got what you deserved.
...
This story is cross-posted on Fanfiction.net, Archive of our Own, and Royal Road.
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USSExplorer · Sep 11, 2024

A/N: Thanks to those helping me write and plan out this story and checking it for continuality and logical errors.

This chapter was released to those on the story's Discord, and who those support my writing anywhere from 1 to 4 months ago.

If doing either interests you, you'll find links at the bottom of the chapter.

Also: May you rest in peace, James Earl Jones.

3.06 Masters and Fathers
… …

Time drifted in the dim corridors of the Raven like the slow, inexorable turning of the galaxy itself. My steps were measured, and deliberate, each footfall a meditation of intent. Barely thirty minutes had passed since we'd left the station where Lena had been delivered into the hands of the Lokella. But the weight in my chest had grown heavier, more insistent. With the ship now threading through hyperspace toward Eshan, I could no longer defer what had to be done.

I needed to speak with Anakin.

In the days following his rescue, I'd busied myself with the duties that allowed me to avoid this conversation. Returning the children to their families—those that had any left—kept my mind occupied, hands steady. Lena was another matter. Her family was gone, her future handed to strangers. I'd done the best I could for her. But for Anakin? That was a different question.

The emotions I felt from him on the junk world remained at the forefront of my mind. I could feel the storm inside him, roiling beneath the surface. Fear, rage, desperation. They had surged like a broken dam, unleashed at the lizards that had threatened his life, and his friends' lives. And though I would never fault him for using the Force to defend those he loved – how could I, when I had wielded it for far less noble reasons? – what he had done, the decisions he had made in that dark, metal graveyard, needed to be examined. Understood. Controlled.

I reached his quarters. Outside, Fenrir lay sprawled in the half-light, the tuk'ata's gleaming eyes watching me, ever vigilant. The creature had barely left Anakin's side since we'd pulled him from that hellish place. I knelt beside the beast, scratching behind one of his ears, the familiar rumble of contentment vibrating beneath my fingers.

"Hey, boy," I murmured, feeling the tension of the coming talk press heavier against my mind. "I'm going to be in there for a while. Just… keep watch."

Fenrir gave me a slow blink, his head settling back onto his paws, ever patient.

As Fenrir stood and moved enough that I could reach Anakin's door, I used the Force to press the buzzer. A moment later the door slid open, and I entered his cabin. It wasn't as large as mine, though it was close and had formerly been Fay's quarters on Raven. A bed that could, in theory, just about hold two people was at one end, while a small desk/table with a chair was next to it. A fresher was sealed away in the wall along with various drawers and cabinets, though most of those were empty as Anakin didn't have a large number of worldly possessions.

He lifted his head as he sat cross-legged on the bed as I approached. His face was drawn and the sense of despondency I'd been feeling from him ever since we'd passed Lena over to the Lokella only grew stronger now I was inside the same room. "I won't ask if you're well," I said as I moved toward the chair at the desk, "what you endured would change anyone, as would what you did to defend yourself and your friends. However, before we talk I want to make one thing abundantly clear." I sat in the chair and gave him my full undivided attention. His head perked up when I didn't immediately continue, though once he focused fully on me, I spoke again. "I'm proud of what you did and why you did it."

"Why?" He asked softly, his voice lacking much of its regular emotion. "I failed."

"How did you fail?" I countered, keeping my tone gentle and my posture as relaxed as I could without surrendering my position as the adult in the room. He needed to see that my actions and emotions matched my words, and that, whatever he said or felt, I was here for him.

He shifted on the bed, pulling his legs up and then dragging his knees toward his face. "They died because of me," he said as his arms wrapped around his legs, holding them tight for protection.

I gave him a small, sad smile and shook my head. "No, Anakin, they didn't. They died because of the Trandoshans."

I knew this would be coming, knew how personally, even as a boy of not quite ten, he took everything bad that happened around him. How he felt a need to feel responsible for everything that had gone wrong. It was both part of his mentality and how Shmi had raised him, however, in this situation, it was a dangerous and incorrect road to head down.

"I…" He paused and I thought I saw him gulp. "I wasn't fast enough. Wasn't strong enough." His head dropped so his forehead rested against his knees. "Kesh, Eshie, the others…"

As his voice trailed off, and understanding what he was feeling, I shifted from the chair and moved to sit beside him on the bed. I moved slowly, not wanting to scare or confuse him, even as the first sniffles reached my ears. Once beside him, I extended an arm and placed it over his shoulders.

I wasn't going to pull him close, as that might be overstepping things, but as soon as my arm came to rest, he leaned toward me. My other arm came around, pulling him in tight even as his chest crashed against my chest. The sniffles quickly turned to sobs and wails, and as I let him grieve and release the worst of his emotions, I gently drew circles on his back with the palm of one hand, hopefully reassuring him.

Knowing he had to work through this, I stayed quiet though as I did so, I closed my eyes and focused inward. His emotions had been like a solar flare in the Force ever since we'd left the station after handing over Lena, but with him now next to me, it was more akin to a supernova. I knew that I couldn't allow myself to be overwhelmed by his emotions, otherwise, the message I needed him to hear might get lost.

I wasn't closing myself off from the Force, as he would sense that and feel, in some way, that it was his fault, which was the last thing I wanted. Instead, I brought forth memories of happier, innocent times I'd spent with him, Bo, Serra, Dooku, Fay, and others. I hoped that by doing so, not only would it help me not drown in the explosion of emotion that was rushing from Anakin, but that he'd sense I wasn't angry, and was here for him.

I might have only adopted him less than half a year ago, and known him for a few more before that, but by adopting him, I'd made a vow – to myself, him, and the Force – that I'd do everything I could to protect him. I knew that such a vow had the potential to be dangerous, even without the Force able to influence and bend to my will, but it was the right thing to do. I had already lost control once. Already let my desperation lead me to the brink of ruin when I was searching for him. But if it came down to it, I knew—I knew—that I would burn worlds to ash, shatter stars, and tear the very fabric of the galaxy apart, if it meant keeping him safe from the horrors that sought to claim him.

Because he wasn't just Anakin Skywalker. He was my son. And that meant more than the Force, more than the galaxy, more than anything.

Time had little meaning as he cried and I continued to sit there, silently offering support, but eventually, his cries grew quieter. Eventually, I felt him shifting, and feeling him press against my arms, I loosened my grip. He lifted his head, letting me see the red eyes and cheeks and wet face. My robes would be wet as well, but that was a trivial issue, and I lifted one hand, brushing back bangs of hair that had stuck to his forehead as he cried into my chest.

"Why?" His voice was low, and rough, as if the question had clawed its way up from deep inside him. I could see it in his eyes, the pain, and the confusion. The loss. I reached out, brushing the hair back from his face, a small gesture of comfort. But his eyes, they burned. There was more than just pain there. Rage flickered in the Force, simmering beneath the surface, waiting for release.

"Why did they do this? Why did my friends have to die?" The words came slower now, each one weighed down with grief, but the anger was growing, feeding on the sorrow, threatening to consume it entirely.

I held his gaze, feeling the storm of emotions building inside him. I couldn't let myself get swept into it. "The Trandoshans," I began, my voice steady, though I could feel the anger rising hot in my throat. "They did what they did because of their god. The Scorekeeper, they call her."

I kept my disgust buried, as much as I could, but even now, I could sense the revulsion twisting my tone. "Their entire existence revolves around earning her favour. They believe that every kill they make, every life they take, earns them points—points that bring them closer to her grace. And while they could hunt beasts for those points, it's the sentient lives, the people, that grant them the most."

I could feel his anger sharpen at that, a knife edge in the Force, and I didn't blame him. There was no justifying it. No words could make sense of it. "That's why they feared dying so much when we captured them. For a Trandoshan, to die in captivity is to lose everything. Their points, their honour, and their connection to their god. It all resets to zero."

I let that hang in the air for a moment, watching as the understanding settled into his mind, but the rage still flickered. "That's why I made sure to take as many of them alive as I could. To break them, not just in body, but in spirit. To strip them of everything they believed mattered."

"Because their god would be angry?"

"Aye, exactly." I gave him a small smile as I continued. "Being sent to the Scorekeeper pointless is not just an insult to them, but to the clan they come from."

"I'm glad they're dead." Anakin's words came out almost violently, but as soon as they left his mouth he blinked as if scared at what he'd said. Yet before I could respond, the shock vanished, replaced by the rage he felt toward them.

"As am I," I said softly, keeping my emotions regarding the species in check. While his showing anger toward them was understandable, I didn't want him to lose himself in that rage. He wasn't ready for what it would bring, nor how to handle the danger that would place him in. "By law, I should've turned them over to the nearest Republic security force. However, outside of a handful of situations, I retain doubts about the effectiveness and efficiency of the Republic in enforcing its laws. Add in that the Trandoshans have been members of the Republic for millennia, yet the Republic, knowing full well about Trandoshan culture and customs, has never once attempted to reign them in." I paused, taking a moment to calm myself as I felt my intense dislike toward the species rising and didn't want that influencing Anakin, or making him think that hunting Trandoshans was something I'd encourage. "That, along with other failings of the Republic, is a topic for another discussion. One that we can have once you are older and more attuned to how the galaxy truly works against how it should work." He would know some of that having been a slave, and then growing up in a commune of former slaves, but he only had a very narrow understanding of the way the galaxy worked, or should work. "For now, and to repeat myself. What happened to you and your friends, nor the actions you took, are not your fault."

"But!" I placed a finger to his mouth, cutting off his response.

"No buts, An'ika," I said. "I've reviewed the interaction you had with the first Trandoshan before you were taken." I took a longer breath than normal, settling the spike of anger I felt whenever I considered the species of walking handbags. Anakin knew I disliked them, but I couldn't risk my anger merging and enhancing his toward the species. It was up to him how he judged them, not me. "While you were, to be nice about it, short in your comments to the beast, you were far nicer than I would've been." A flicker of a smile flashed over his face, and I suspected he knew exactly how I'd have handled that rude lizard. "The group that came at you from behind never heard your words, nor did they intervene in the discussion before attacking. That, beyond anything else, places the entirety of the blame, and what came after, at their feet."

"However," I continued, changing tack slightly to shift Anakin's focus, "while you are without blame, I am not. Not because I let you wander the station. Simvyl is a capable warrior and more than able to handle most issues that might arise. Getting flanked and attacked by heavily armed aggressors was not something anyone could've seen coming. No, my blame lies in, when trying to reach you to save you, I lost control of my anger; letting it cloud my decision-making and granting them the time they needed to escape."

"That wasn't your fault!" Anakin shot back after pushing my finger, which was still over his mouth, out of the way. "If not for that, then I'd not have been able to try and save my friends!"

"Yeah, that's true," I agreed with a smirk, "and it was because of my failure on the station that you were in the position to help those newly made friends." Anakin blinked as if seeing he'd walked into the trap I'd laid out with my words. Hopefully, it would also help him understand that he was truly without blame for what had happened. "Without you there, would any of them have survived? For those that didn't make it, would they have lasted longer if you'd not been there?"

Anakin blinked again, my words driving home the point. "No," he said quietly, taking his time, I hoped, to process what I was saying. "But they should never have been taken to begin with."

"No, they shouldn't," I agreed with a shake of my head. I wasn't trying to shift blame for events to the Republic, but given that outside of the Core worlds, and maybe The Colonies, the Republic generally gave zero fucks about the rest of the galaxy, it wasn't hard to develop an opinion on it. Now, the Republic had tried before to regulate space beyond the Inner Rim, but not since before the New Sith Wars. "However, as I said a few moments ago, the flaws and failures of the Republic are a matter for another time. For now, let's stay focused on recent events, and the actions you took."

"O-okay."

I offered a reassuring smile and placed one hand on a shoulder. "Anakin, as I've already said, I don't blame you. Nor am I angry with what you did, or why. I'm proud of you. Not only did you survive something that many would not, but you worked as hard as you could to save others. Yes, Lena's family wasn't there to take her back, but she along with Plirs and Snaxiu survived their kidnapping because of you."

"B-but the others… E-Eshie, Ke-Kesh…"

I squeezed his shoulder. "We cannot, no matter how hard we try, save everyone, Anakin. Death, as much as it hurts, is part of the cycle of life." I paused and looked away. There was a topic I wanted to bring up to help him, but I couldn't make it seem like I'd planned to do so otherwise the lesson might not be understood and taken in. "I learnt this when I was a little younger than you." Anakin frowned in confusion. "Do you remember when I told you how I was raised by my grandfather, at least until I discovered I could wield the Force and the Sith came for me?" He nodded after a pause, vaguely remembering the talk. That was a relief as when I'd told him of my grandfather before, Anakin hadn't been aware of how to sense subtle shifts in the Force, and I'd had the Interface to help regulate my emotional reactions permeating into the Force. "In the moment when they came, I knew I had to run, to hide, and if forced to, as much as I might not have understood it, to fight. That said, the ideas only became prevalent when I heard my grandfather – his final words being to run – die. The moment he died, I was equal parts furious and frightened." I offered him a small, wry smile at that, as it was exactly how he would've felt when he was released for the Trandoshans to hunt him and the others. "I drew upon that, used it to help me escape, though I barely did so; only surviving because of a mistake of the Sith apprentice." The look on the Sith's face, as I killed her with a lightsaber summoned from my Inventory, was one I'd never forget, even without Eidetic Memory to ensure it. "As you know, after that, due to damage to the hyperdrive of the ship I was on, I ended up at the Jedi Temple." Minus a slight detour to Dromond Kaas. "The reason I'm bringing this up again is not because of that story, but of what happened during my first mission as a Padawan." Anakin was listening intently, my speech/story distracting him as I'd hoped it would. "I was sent undercover to try and locate, and if possible, stop a kidnapping and extortion ring that was taking place on Coruscant, not far from the Senate building and the Jedi Temple."

"But how?" Anakin asked with a creased brow. "Coruscant is the safest place in the galaxy."

I chuckled at the innocence in his tone. "Coruscant is the Shining Jewel of the Core, the centre of civilization, and the heart of freedom and democracy. Or at least that's what the Holonet loves to claim," I added with a shake of my head. "The beauty, the ideals, everything that people say about Coruscant and its grandeur, is only skin-deep. Go a few sectors from the Senate or Jedi Temple, or drop down a handful of levels, and you'll see the truth. What might once have been a pristine gem is now nothing but a cracked counterfeit. At a distance, it looks real, but the closer you get, the more carefully you examine it, the more apparent it is that it's anything but what it claims to be." I chuckled again. "Of course, as I already said, the failings and flaws of the Republic, and by extension Coruscant, is a topic for another time," I remembered well the flaws and failings of the systems of government and laws from my former life, but what Coruscant, what the Republic had become, dwarfed them all. Not just by the obvious metric of size, but by how far the Republic, with its twisted, corrupted heart, had fallen from the ideals it claimed to embody.

"Returning to my story," I continued, noting that Anakin was focused entirely on me, and not concerning himself with his self-believed failings. "I, along with two other, and older, Padawans, were placed undercover with roles that should, in theory, draw the attention of the kidnappers. I was assigned as the distant, long-lost nephew of a Senator and spent months living with him and his staff waiting for something to happen." Anakin was leaning forward, being drawn into my story, which was what I'd hoped for. "Which it finally did, much to my embarrassment.

"I'd sensed myself being approached, felt the inkling of danger gathering and thought I could handle it," I grunted in amusement. "Of course, I failed, and when I awoke I found myself, much as you did, inside a cage. There the kidnappers confronted me, telling me that if my uncle didn't pay the ransom, then I would be sold into slavery." Anakin's face twisted, his opinions on slavers clear for anyone to see. "Like you, I didn't reveal I could use the force right away, preferring to keep it up my sleeve so that I could use it later. I did so once I was left alone, and once sure there was no one nearby, I escaped my cage."

"How?"

"I Phased through the bars. One day, I will teach you how to do that," I added quickly, not wanting him to consider trying it for himself. Certainly not until I rediscovered how to do it myself. "However, you aren't yet ready for that lesson." He huffed, much to my amusement, as I returned to my story. "Once free, I began scouting the ship I was on. It didn't take long for me to discover that my fellow Padawans had been captured before me, and to realise that my captors did more than just kidnap and sell people. They did things that…" I paused and pinched the bridge of my nose. "That they deserved to die for."

"Why didn't you know they'd been caught? The other Padawans, I mean."

"That is a very good question, and one I put to the Jedi Council once the mission was over. Their answer, while making some sense, wasn't one I agreed with. Then or now. I still believe that their not alerting me to the capture of the other Padawans placed me in greater danger than informing me of the change would've done. Of course, knowing what had happened, might have altered how I'd behaved, preventing me from being captured, and thus being in a position to free the others." Anakin frowned, and while he didn't seem to fully be grasping my point, I hoped he was getting some of it. To be sure, I added a little extra. "Sometimes, as much as we might dislike it, it is necessary for those in command of a plan to not provide full details to those they command."

"Like when you freed Naboo?"

I blinked, not expecting that pivot. "Yes, though that was a very different situation," I quickly replied. "The commanders of the various battles, be it those on the plains, targeting Theed and other cities, or in orbit above, know the overall plan of battle. The way their elements all linked together, and how, however, were only known to a handful." Anakin gave a nod of understanding. "Returning to my story, after discovering my fellow Padawans aboard the ship, learning their condition, and the status of the other children taken, I turned my focus to the slavers. All were taken out, and only a few were able to be turned over to Republic security forces once we reached a safe world."

I might not like Jon Savos, but what he went through I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. I could still see his face, still hear the pained, terrified wails he'd emitted when I'd discovered him strapped to a table. My anger at the time had been easier to control, due to Player's Mind, but my reaction to the discovery, and my choice to take out every slaver on the vessel without concern of their condition was not something I regretted.

What I had to be careful of, as with each memory that I'd touched on today, was that Anakin didn't pick up on my feelings; or more accurately, didn't think they were because of him. That was why, when I finished telling him the tale, I took a few moments, ensuing I took deep, slow breaths to calm my nerves.

"What happened after?"

"Along with my fellow Padawans, I returned to Coruscant and was greeted by our Masters." I paused, memories of how nervous Bultar had been about seeing Master Giiett again coming to the fore. "One of my fellow Padawans had been nervous about seeing her Master again, worried he might punish her for getting captured. Instead, he simply stated that even when we do everything perfectly, bad things can happen."

"But I didn't do everything right," Anakin cut in, seeing the message I was trying to pass along. "I couldn't get everyone to come with me."

"Yes, but even if you had, can you be sure that everyone would've survived?" I countered with a small smile. "All we can ever do is the best we can. Most of the time that won't be enough, but as long as we try, that is all anyone can ever ask of you. We're not droids, after all. We all have needs, intentions, and drives. Sometimes these align with others, but at other times they don't.

"Often, that isn't an issue. However, in critical or tense situations, such as your kidnapping, the fact everyone is unique with their own desires and wants, can cause issues." I lifted my hand from his shoulder and ruffled his hair. "You did all that you could to convince them to follow you. They chose not to, as is their right. That means their fate, their deaths, aren't on you. It lies only with those who placed them in that situation in the first place."

"I hate them."

I blinked, trying to hide my reaction to Anakin's comment. Not so much for the comment itself, as I despised the Trandoshans as well, but for the eruption of rage mixed with certainty that radiated from him within the Force. The lights in the room flickered, suggesting Raven sensed Anakin's fury as well, which meant Fenrir probably had as well. While he lacked the depth of connection to them that I held, Anakin was close with both and we were all, in our odd little way, family.

"That is understandable," I said careful of my tone and how I reacted to his outburst in the Force. "What you went through was beyond terrifying. If you had come out the other side, acting and saying that nothing had changed, then I would be truly worried for you, I'd be deeply concerned. Yet, while being angry, upset, or enraged over anything is an entirely natural reaction because we not only can sense the Force and draw upon it but because our connections to it are, potentially, stronger than any other in the galaxy, we have to be extremely wary of allowing our emotions to rule us. Our feelings and desires can easily bleed into the Force, altering it in ways we might not understand or be able to predict, which can easily alter and unbalance us."

"Is that why Jedi aren't meant to seek vengeance?"

"Yes, exactly. Vengeance is the act of seeking revenge for an injustice. Now, I'm not saying that justice, peace, and the rule of law aren't worth fighting for. What I'm talking about, and I admit it is a lesson I'm still learning, is knowing how to temper our need for revenge with our demands for justice. How to find that point where, if we go further, we no longer are interested in upholding the rule of law, but in sating out thirst for retribution." I sighed and shook my head, letting down some of my guard so he could sense some of how I felt about protecting those important to me. "Like you, I'm an emotional person. I want to do everything I can to help others, especially those I consider friends or family." That drew a flicker of a smile from him. "However, I know that if I get lost in my need to protect others, to seek justice for wrongs, I can lose myself. Something that, when I was captured by the Bando Gora, almost cost me my life in my battle with Komari Vosa. Since then, I've spent considerable time trying to learn how to temper my emotions so that, in the heat of conflict, I am the master of my fate, and not them or the Force."

"Bo said that Mandalorians use vengeance to help them through their darkest hours."

I sighed again and shook my head, making a note to discover what else she had taught Anakin, and how to best punish her for actions. "Bo isn't wrong. However, while we are Mando'ade, the strong connection we have with the Force, and to each other and others, means that we have to hold ourselves to higher ideals than most other Mando'ade. If not all other sentients."

"So I shouldn't seek vengeance? Shouldn't I want to kill others for hurting my friends and family?" There was an edge to his tone, one that made clear his dislike of what he thought I was saying. At the same time, I sensed his thoughts shifting toward his mother and the promise I'd made to train him so that he could kill Decca the Hutt for ordering the attack that killed Shmi.

"As I said, seeking vengeance isn't the same as wanting justice," I replied, gently squeezing his upper arm. "Your mother deserves justice, and when the time comes, when you are ready to do so, I will stand beside you when we strike at the Hutt responsible. However, just because we seek to kill that Hutt, doesn't mean we should widen our need for justice to every other Hutt in existence, or every sentient that Decca hired for the assault. That would be seeking retribution beyond the need for justice and, given the number of beings we'd have to kill to get to every Hutt, would mean the death of a substantial percentage of the galaxy.

"Like you, I have an intense dislike…" I paused and shook my head. "No, that's the wrong word. Like you, I hate the Trandoshans and despise the Hutts and what they stand for. However, I know that those feelings are irrational even if they are a part of me. Because of that, and the fact I can wield the Force, I'm left with three possible paths down which to travel.

"I can, as the Jedi insist we should let go of all my anger. Or I could, as the Sith are claimed to preach, give into it, and hope it never betrays me. Or, and I admit this is very much a theory at the moment, I could use those feelings, however irrational or not they might be, to empower me; to help me shape my path and prepare for whatever threats – be that Trandoshans, Hutts or others – that await me in the future."

I took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling, gathering my thoughts. That last path was the one Adas was preaching, and it was the one I'd stepped onto to retain control of my emotions when I saved Anakin. In that moment, it had been the right path, but I feared that it wasn't one that I should head down. Or that if I did, I would become no better than the ancient Sith King, or the Banite Sith Lords, in my need for power and control.

"I have tried, ever since first learning I could wield the Force, to do as the Jedi insist it should. I've tried, sometimes desperately, to release my feelings – good and bad – into the Force and move forward with my life. To give my fate over to the Force." I chuckled as images of everyone that had ever mattered to me flashed through my thoughts. "For better or worse, that path didn't work for me. Nor, if I'm being honest, do I expect it to work for you. However, over the coming years you need to attempt following it; to see if I'm wrong and that you can be the good Jedi others would wish you to be."

I was all but certain that Anakin, like me, would never be able to follow the Jedi path of letting go of his emotions or letting events play out without attempting to alter them to protect those he cared about. That was the flaw that Sidious exploited over a decade to turn him into Vader. However, this Anakin wasn't that one, and I at least had to attempt to see if the Jedi path might work for him. To do otherwise would be a failure on my part as both his Master and father.

"What about the other ways?"

"Those paths… are ones that, clearly, the Jedi – and others – wouldn't agree with," I answered carefully, mindful of my words. "For now, for your training, we'll focus on trying you on the path of the Jedi. It is the one you have the most exposure to, both from myself and from Master Dooku. The other paths… we can discuss them in a few years if you feel unable to be a Jedi."

I wasn't going to hide those paths from him, nor deny him the chance to at least learn about them. However, I was reluctant to discuss them currently. Not least as I was still determining what exactly the third path, the one offered by Adas, truly demanded from those who took it. So far, from what little I'd adapted of Adas' teachings into my thinking, it felt like the correct path, but I wasn't going to dive headlong down it. Not when such a thing carried the risk of me becoming a Sith.

Adas wasn't a Sith in the sense that Sidious and Plagueis were. He was an older, perhaps even truer, style of Sith. One born of the species and not those that came later having been expelled from the Jedi. However, like the Banite Sith, the path Adas had walked, and that I knew he wanted me to walk, was one many would consider dark if not outright evil.

I knew there was darkness inside me, and not just because Eidetic Memory prevented me from letting go of my feelings. I had always been capable of doing dangerous things, something that had carried over from my former life. The issue that I was facing, and needed to reconcile myself with, was that, when taking out the Trandoshans that had kidnapped Anakin, I'd enjoyed what I'd done. As much as it concerned me, I'd revelled in the terror I'd induced in them once they understood I would send them to their god as failures, and enjoyed watching as the spark of pitiful intelligence they possessed was extinguished by my hand. That was something I needed time to process, to resolve so that I didn't go forth in this life seeking out those moments merely to find a, for lack of a better term, contact high.

"Wh…" Anakin's stuttered start to a sentence drew my thoughts back to him. "What if the Jedi path doesn't work for me like it doesn't for you?" His head had dropped down to rest on his knees again, seeking solace in the position. "What if… what if I do what I did again and enjoy it?"

I gave his arm another squeeze and shifted closer, placing my free hand on his other arm. "Then, if that day comes, we'll work on finding a path for you that does work. One that won't see you getting lost in the enjoyment of such acts, that won't see you surrender your humanity, your individuality, in some need for further enjoyment."

This topic would be returned to in a few years, regardless of whether Anakin could follow the Jedi path or not. All I could hope was that by then, either he had committed to the Jedi, or I knew the path I wished to follow and felt safe in seeing if he was capable and interested in following me along it. I won't force him to follow, he was his own person. I might be his Master and father, but that gave me no right to determine his fate. All I could do was ensure that, when he made his choice, I was capable of supporting it and helping him grow into the man he was always meant to become.

I knew that if I wasn't careful if he attempted to follow me now down the path I was considering currently, then all I'd be doing was creating a monster. One that would be a threat to not just me, but everyone else. That path was one I knew would see everything I'd done, everything I was trying to do, to alter the future of the galaxy, fail miserably. The visions I'd shared with him weren't certain futures, but there had been enough in them, and others since, that made clear that, if we were to prevent the Banite Sith from ruling over the galaxy, from bringing forth whatever darkness they sought to unleash, we had to stand together. Otherwise, we and everything we cared for and loved, would be destroyed.

… …

… …
There was the now-familiar whimper of disappointment from Raven as we exited hyperspace. It wasn't any sound the ship generated, but a sensation in the Force that reminded me of a child's wail of regret. However, it was soon replaced as she felt the light from a new star, once more enjoying the fresh experience.

Ahead of us, deeper into the system, lay the homeworld of the Echani, Eshan. That planet was one of six they controlled that formed because they were generally ruled by a matriarchy, the Six sisters. The only planet not controlled by the Matriarchal Council was Thyrsus, which was male-dominated and the planet from which the Sun Guard originated.

I'd encountered those whenever I'd met with Magister Damask as he employed them as guards. I was curious if he still used them now, or if, like Palpatine, he relied on the Senate Guard for his protection now that the pair were Co-Chancellors of the Republic.

The Echani and the Sun Guard were regarded, along with the Mandalorians, as some of the galaxy's greatest warrior societies and preeminent combat specialists. While the Mandalorians and Sun Guard favoured heavier armour and power, the Echani preferred light-fitting clothing; fast, fluid combat and personal shielding devices. The difference in style was one reason I'd chosen them as a group to visit as, while he would mature in time, for the next few years, Anakin would always be surrendering mass, power, and reach in any battle he entered. The Echani combat style – which bore the name of species – would suit him better, and even once matured, would be adaptable into whatever style of combat – with and without a lightsaber – he focused upon.

Both groups had fought regularly against the Mandalorians, often allying with the Republic during times when they had crusaded and invaded Republic space. That meant there was some remaining animosity between the various groups, but nothing that should cause us any issues with finding an Instructor to teach us. Still, to be on the safe side, to make it easier to find someone willing to teach us, and as Echani – the combat style – relied on light to no armour, we'd be spending our time here in Jedi robes. That meant Anakin would have to grow out a Padawan braid, but I'd already promised him that if when our time here ended and he disliked it, he could remove it.

That had come up in the various talks we'd had since I'd first spoken with him about his actions against the Trandoshans and on the path that he'd been training toward for the next few years. The initial conversation had gone on longer than I'd expected, touching on matters I'd not planned to bring up with him, but that was fine. The same was true of subsequent chats, though those were generally as Anakin had wanted to know about my life before we'd met, specifically my time as a Jedi Initiate.

When he learnt I'd been born on a Core world, even if it were a relatively unimportant one, he'd wondered why I'd not been discovered by the Jedi much earlier. I'd explained that my mother had hidden my potential from the Order and explained that she'd done so because she felt my father was a Sith, and had left me with my grandfather to grow in safety. At least until I displayed Force Potential that my grandfather couldn't hide.

To help him learn more about my past, I'd given him free access to my mother's holocron. There was nothing on there that would pose a danger to him, as Ressa had used it primarily as a journal for me to discover once I was ready. I'd not mentioned where I'd found it, nor had Anakin yet asked, as the Vault was something I wasn't bringing up until I felt he was ready. The cave had held a good number of surprises, not just my mother's holocron and HK's head. The beskar there, or at least the half that belonged to my clan, would be used for his armour once Anakin was older and had completed his verd'goten, which he was still adamant about completing.

The data files that were with Alor Torrhen, however, were something that outside of him, Lady Asta, and me, none were privy to. The files there, while millennia out of date, held designs that were believed lost to the galaxy. I suspected House Ordo was working on modernising them, but so far I'd yet to hear anything from either of the House leaders regarding that.

Those files, along with the fact my mother had believed my father was a Sith, could be used against me by members of the Jedi Order as proof that I was a threat to them. However, the only way they might learn of either was if someone spoke to them about it, and as the circle of knowledge for either was small and trustworthy, I wasn't concerned about that fact. Haran, the only reason I had to return to the Temple at any point, outside my promise to one day show it to Anakin, was my friends within it.

There, one name, one face, dominated my thoughts. Thanks to Tedra, Darihd, and Aayla, I knew Serra was out of seclusion. However, when I'd attempted to contact her directly, the Temple's communication centre informed me that if I wished to speak with Serra I had to contact Master Windu first. Given that I was still working on getting a handle on the changes brought on by Natural Selection, I'd decided against speaking with one of the Order's most senior and powerful members. Even over the Holonet, there was a chance he might sense something was different and insist I return to Coruscant.

To get around that issue, I had to rely on the aforementioned friends to relay messages to Serra. They couldn't outright reveal her replies over the Holonet since, given all calls to and from the Temple were recorded, someone might review the conversation, but they had been clear that she was getting better, and that she was happy to hear I was still thinking of her. Eventually, I knew I'd have to speak with her face to face, but for now, the indirect communication would have to do. Plus, the longer I held off on that meeting, the more time I had to consider how to broach the fact I'd captured and not killed Maul.

The last report I'd gotten from Torrhen was that the Zabrak was still heavily sedated and isolated in the prison. His sustenance, along with vital functions, were controlled by machines that monitored everything about him to ensure he remained in an induced coma while keeping him as isolated from the Force as possible. I knew that couldn't be kept up indefinitely, but it would have to do until I felt I was ready to face him again.

Regarding Darihd, I'd learnt from him that Sia-Lan was actively bad-mouthing me to other Padawans. At least whenever the Knights and Masters weren't aware. She still blamed me for what had happened with Drallig and Serra, and even though it wasn't her business – beyond the fact she was meant to be a friend to Serra and me – she had chosen to ensure that as many Padawans as possible knew her side of the story, not caring what Serra or I felt about the matter.

I'd discovered that Darihd and Master Sifo-Dyas were soon to depart on a mission to Felucia. From what little he'd told me, it was to handle some form of trade dispute, but I could feel the shifts in the Force as he spoke. I felt it was time for Sifo-Dyas to be removed by the Sith to hide their involvement in the Clone Army being created by the Kaminoans. As I couldn't outright warn him of a threat– since I didn't know from whom or where it would appear – I'd instead hinted that I'd felt the Force moving, suggesting that the pair would be in danger.

It was frustrating that I couldn't divert myself to help Sifo-Dyas and Darihd to ensure they remained alive, however, I'd accepted this was likely to be the case around the invasion of Naboo. The Clone Army was needed by the Sith, and if I inserted myself into the matter now, I'd end up squarely in their targets as a threat and while I would have been willing to risk my own life Anakin was still too vulnerable. As such, I'd accepted that I'd be losing a friend because of my folly of taking the Changing Fate quest for Sifo-Dyas, though that didn't mean that, when the time came, whoever had been chosen to replace Dooku wouldn't feel my wrath.

As much as it might anger people if they learnt of my choices, and the reasons why, Anakin was far more important than Master Sifo-Dyas and Darihd. This growth, his evolution into the warrior he was meant to be meant more in the grand scheme of whatever plan the Force had activated by creating him. As was, as much as I might not want to admit it, I. The Force had accepted my presence into its plan -whatever that was – for seeking balance, but I was reasonably sure how I might go about it was far from how it had hoped for Anakin to bring the balance it sought.

A gentle nudge from Raven drew my attention just before the communication console beeped for attention. "Thank you," I said to the empty cockpit. Simvyl was resting while Anakin was training with HK, R2 and Fenrir, no doubt, was lazing around in the main area.

Accepting the call, a small hologram of a young-looking female appeared. "Salutations and greetings. On behalf of the Matriarchal Council of the Six Sisters, I welcome you and your crew to the Eshan system. However, as your vessel isn't a scheduled arrival, nor one that our databanks have a record of, I must ask as to who you are and why you have travelled to Eshan."

I chuckled at the polite but firm introduction the Echani had given. Most of the time, whenever I neared a planet, the responses had been – at least in the case of a new location – blunt, and that was putting it nicely. Here I'd been greeted warmly, but it was still clear that I was unknown to the locals. The other thing was that we'd exited hyperspace well back of Eshan, close to the innermost gas giant of the system. There were ships and stations around it and its various moons, but our arrival point, as was common of most hyperspace exits, was far from any intra-system commuter traffic.

"Hello there," I felt my smile grow when I once more used that line, "I'm Jedi Knight Cameron Shan aboard my personal vessel, Jade Raven." The woman's eyes widened at the reveal of me being a Jedi, and unless it was a trick of the emitters, a fraction more as I stated my name. "Along with my Padawan and my co-pilot, I was hoping to spend some time, perhaps up to half a standard year, on Eshan studying the way of the Echani."

The woman blinked a few times as if she was taking time to process what I'd said. "Thank you for the information. For now, remain outside the orbit of the fifth planet of our system. Someone will contact you shortly with further information." The hologram faded away as the channel closed. I assumed they needed to run my arrival up the flagpole simply because I was a Jedi. As far as I knew, there were no issues between the Echani and the Jedi, but I'd only encountered … Echani Jedi in my time in the Order, and I wasn't exactly keeping up with current Jedi business, so perhaps there was something I was missing about the situation.

We continued moving forward, deeper into the system, and it only took about ten minutes at a leisurely cruise to reach the orbit of the fifth planet. That was on the far side of the sun, but knowing we weren't meant to go further, I had Raven slow, and we hovered in place, watching as other ships – which much have been regular transports – moved to and from the inner system.

"They're taking their sweet time," Simvyl commented as the chronometer in the cockpit showed it had been twenty minutes since we'd been welcomed to the system.

"Observation: I suspect they are trying to confirm your identity, Master, and then once they have, they'll be determining where we should head. While meatbags, the Echani are capable combatants with decent, for organics, security measures."

I chuckled at HK's comment, which for him, was about as complimentary as he could get with most sentients. He might be firm in his belief that droids were superior to 'meatbags' but he respected cultures and individuals that understood warfare. That wouldn't, as he'd just proven, stop him from burying insults in with his praise, nor me from enjoying every time he made such a comment.

The communication console beeped a few moments after HK's remark, and opening the channel we were greeted by another Echani. This one appeared older, and given the increased number of badges, pips, and markings on their uniform, this one was far senior to the earlier Echani. "Greeting Master Jedi," she began, lowering her head slightly as she spoke, "I am Arch-Justicar Ren Dalka; senior commander for Eshan orbital security." My brow rose, wondering what I'd done to warrant being greeted by the head of this branch of their military. "On behalf of the Matriarchal Council, and Eshan High Command, I am honoured to welcome one such as yourself to our planet. From the report that crossed my desk, I'm led to believe you and those with you wish to study our ways?"

"Yes. I have more than a passing interest in the various warrior cultures of the galaxy and had hoped, alongside my Padawan and pilot, that I could study at least the basics of your martial art."

"That is more than agreeable," Dalka replied with a faint smile. "Perhaps we might even learn something from you." Well, that explained why I was getting the high-roller treatment. "However, before I suggest a particular Academy for you and those with you to study at, perhaps we might speak in person on this and other matters?"

"It would be my pleasure."

Dalka's smile widened. "Excellent. My adjunct is transmitting a flightplan to you," the communication console beeper to signal the arrival of the file. "Please don't deviate from this path, and I look forward to judging you in person once you arrive at my location."

The channel closed abruptly, though given how busy this Arch-Justicar must be, it was understandable she'd only have a minute or two to speak over an open comm.

"Course entering into Raven's computer," Simvyl reported and as I dove deeper into the system, I noted the path would take us toward the northern pole of the third planet, which according to the Holonet was Eshan proper. That station seemed to be one of eight that hovered over the planet. Each of those, which seemed to have a permanent orbit over their location, was impressively large, twice if not thrice the size of Mtael's Gift. In other places around the planet, Raven's scanners detected over a hundred orbital defence platforms. All in all, it was an impressive defensive screen, though lacking compared to what I'd seen over most Core World planets.

I suspected that the Arch-Justice would determine which Academy was best for us by sparring with me. The Echani placed immense importance on the idea that you only saw someone's true face when you sparred with them. I just hoped I didn't embarrass myself by taking on a career officer such as the Arch-Justicar.

… …

… …
I watched as impassively as I could from a balcony that overlooked and encircled the Sparring Square down below. There Anakin, wearing the standard training clothing of this Academy of tight-fitting but thin shorts and t-shirt, was stepping forward. He would be going again against one of the other students in his Creche. That was the term the Echani used for groups of students of similar skill – and in the younger groups, age – of trainees who were studying with them.

Just like with my Creche and the one Simvyl was in at another Academy a few hours' flight away, the majority of Anakin's Creche was composed of Echani. However, while I was able to hold my own, at least against those from other planets, Anakin had been struggling since the first day. He was improving, and after three months at the Academy, that was easy to determine, but it was slow going. Thankfully, he wasn't put off by the challenge, instead, much as I did, he was enjoying it; almost losing himself in the spars he partook in.

This academy had been Arch Justicar Dalka's recommendation after I sparred against her—and lost. Badly. I hadn't drawn on the Force, fighting her on her terms, with nothing but skill and muscle memory to guide me. She took me apart though not without effort. After the match, she'd spoken at length—well, as much time as she was willing to spare—about my previous combat training and what I hoped to gain by studying under an Echani Master.

The Echani martial art itself was vast, with sub-branches and specialized forms, but amusingly, the Interface categorized it all under one umbrella: Echani. No subtleties, no nuance. Just Echani. Yet, in three months, I'd seen significant progress, thanks to the Interface's assistance and my ability to pull from other combat arts I'd already studied. The Interface had generated a training quest specifically for mastering Echani, though I managed to tweak the system, bending it to my will. Rather than requiring new quests with each milestone, I streamlined it—one continuous quest, with all targets and ranks embedded within.

The rewards for lower ranks, like reaching Adept:1, which I'd achieved by the start of the second month, were modest—small amounts of XP. But once I crossed into the higher tiers, from Professional:50 onward, the rewards scaled exponentially. Maybe I was missing out on some extra XP by consolidating the quests, but the efficiency of this method aligned better with my long-term focus.

The Academy's Battlemaster praised my progress, calling it remarkable, even when accounting for my prior combat experience. Yet, she made it clear that it would be months—perhaps even half a year—before I'd be ready to move on to one of the sub-forms. It was a hard truth to swallow, both understandable and frustrating. I knew it took time to build a foundation in any martial art before branching into specialized disciplines. But I also knew I wouldn't be spending another six months on Eshan.

At best, three or four months more. As valuable as this training was, we couldn't afford the time to stay here indefinitely. Not when I'd budgeted only two to three years for us to learn from different cultures across the galaxy. We were approaching a year since the invasion of Naboo. Time was running out, and there was still so much left to do.

Anakin and his opponent, a local girl in his Creche, bowed to each other and then assumed their positions. The girl was from one of the other planets in the Six Sisters and was considered the best in Anakin's Creche, though not in the year group the Creche sat in. A gong sounded, signalling the beginning of the spar, and I watched as the pair slowly moved around the Square. The girl wore a confident smile, which made sense as Anakin had yet to come close to landing a blow, never mind defeating her. However, Anakin didn't react to it.

I could sense a spike in his annoyance at her behaviour, and at having to surrender the initiative when she thrust out her hands in a flurry of quick attacks, but at least he wasn't losing himself in that annoyance. Nor, as he avoided the flurry, was he drawing too heavily on the Force, at least to bend it to his needs, as he moved forward to counter. He had a decent base in Beskar'pel as Bo and I had shown him the foundations, along with some elements of Teräs Käsi, but he was focusing on only using the Echani forms taught to him by his instructors.

What he was doing, which was what I'd instructed him to do before we'd entered the Academy, was drawing on the lessons with Instructor Kefe of the Matukai, and using the Force to increase his abilities slightly and slowly. Faster reactions, quicker movements, and greater processing of the world around us were key factors that Kefe had us focus on while only drawing upon a sliver of the Force that we could access.

While anyone with even a weak connection could do that, since Anakin and I had incredible potential with the Force, the fact we could do that, and still maintain a massive reserve of ability with the Force without risking exhaustion was a boon I really wanted him to focus on. I knew that, so long as he kept following the path I'd created for us, he'd grow into a powerful warrior. I just needed to be sure that he was the one who remained in control at all times.

The Echani girl swept out her leg, forcing Anakin to move back. As he did so, she moved the leg back in, yet she kept the momentum of the attack, twisting with it. There was a moment where Anakin could've attacked her while she had turned away from him, but an arm came out, sweeping forward of her turn as protection.

The leg that had started the move came around again, this time sliding out further as the girl leaned into the attack. Anakin leapt back, letting the flowing, graceful attack miss. That was a mistake I'd seen him make repetitively during our first month, as he didn't understand that Echani relied on moves that flowed into each other, creating something akin, at least at the highest levels, to an almost rhythmic dance.

Anakin feinted to attack, but instead pulled it back as the Echani slid forward. He was being cautious to avoid falling for any trap the girl might be laying. Another sign he was improving as he wasn't rushing into the fore without thinking and was learning from previous spars with the Echani. The girl's attack missed, and Anakin countered, moving into the space she had left. His action was wise, but there was the faint hint of delay before he moved; something the girl used.

As her arm came around, knocking away Anakin's palm strike before it could land, I realised Anakin was still hesitating. It was less obvious than when he'd started, but it was clear he was reluctant to fully trust the Force, to let it guide him in the spar. I'd talked with him about that, and I knew it was because of what happened with the Trandoshans, but while it was getting less prevalent, it was still there, and a gentle click from my right meant my latest friend, Giulia, had spotted the issue as well.

"He still hesitates," she said quietly, not wanting her voice to carry beyond us. Not least as the Master overseeing the spar, and the one that was with us and our Creche up on the balcony, would force her into remedial training for disrupting the flow of a spar. "He is still haunted by whatever troubles his thoughts?"

"More by the emotions connected to them," I replied, not turning to face her. Giulia was much like the girl Anakin was fighting, the best in her and my Creche. Given her training since childhood and her lineage as the grandniece of Arch Justicar Dalka, her skill was no surprise. What was surprising was how she'd taken an interest in me since my arrival at the Academy.

I wasn't sure whether her interest stemmed from my status as a Jedi, my semi-fame due to Naboo, my connections to the Mando'ade, or some mix of all three and other factors. Whatever the reason, she'd been a frequent presence in my vicinity since my first week. Because of my skills and background, she'd tried to ensure we were each other's primary sparring partners.

What I hadn't fully grasped at the time was how deeply an Echani invests their soul and passion into their fighting. When engaging in a no-holds-barred battle, it could be more than just a spar—it became a dance, a way to lose oneself in the intensity of the combat. As I grew more accustomed to enjoying combat through Natural Selection, much of that enthusiasm carried over into my sparring with her. By the end of the second week and after our tenth nearly unrestrained match, Giulia had entered my room one night and made it clear she wasn't leaving until I allowed her to stay. That was when I learned the truth.

"Understandable. However, the issue continues to hold him back when he fights," Giulia said, her voice soft as she shuffled around. I felt her leg brush against mine, her hand resting near me on the railing. "It distracts him from the battle, costing him any chance of victory."

I ignored her proximity, keeping my focus on Anakin. After nearly three months, I was accustomed to her presence and attention, though I remained vigilant not to let it distract me from observing my son.

"I'm well aware of that, and it was one of the reasons why I had us come to Eshan for training." As I spoke, Anakin seemed to relax, and I felt the Force subtly shift around him. He wasn't delving deeply into the Force, but I could sense him letting it suggest how he should move, how he should counter his opponent's actions before they were even taken.

It was that ability, along with my greater real combat experience, that allowed me to quickly rise to third best in my Creche, and fifth best in our ability level. I knew I'd not catch Giulia before my time on Eshan was over, but I hoped to crack the top three rankings before that day came.

"Yes, but it continues to plague him," She added, her hand moving closer, and her fingers sliding over the back of my hand. "Until he learns to trust his emotions, to flow with them, he will struggle." She turned, drawing her sight toward me. "A failing, I am pleased to say, you don't possess," she added, her other hand coming around and resting gently against my chest.

I knew what she was doing, trying to draw my attention from Anakin and toward her. She loved pushing the boundaries of what the Masters and Instructors of the Academy would allow. Normally, I'd be fine with that, however, she was trying to stop me from watching Anakin, which was why I leaned my head away from her to again have a clear sight of my son. "If you ever wish to see what I am capable of again, then I would advise you not to distract me from watching my Padawan."

"Ooh," she cooed, her hand pushing against my chest. "How protective, as a father should be."

"A Padawan is not the same as a son," I reminded her even as Anakin was driven back. His opponent's strikes were coming in fast now, and while Anakin was able to protect himself, each assault was forcing him to concede ground, something he was fast running out of.

That was often how his spars ended nowadays, at least when he didn't overcommit or fall for a trap his opponent set for him. The first week or so of spars for him had all been lost because of that last reason, and while it still happened from time to time, that was more because the opponent was doing something Anakin wasn't prepared for instead of his emotions getting the better of him. Two more attacks came in before one of Anakin's feet slipped from the Square, and the gong sounded again, signalling the end of the spar.

Giulia's smile widened at the sound. "It seems the spar is over," she said, slipping across to block most of my view of the Sparring Square. "And with that, so is his class and the ring. Since it is now free, perhaps you might be interested in stepping inside once more?"

I opened my mouth, readying a response, only for it to die as I hissed instead. Before I could respond, Giulia had slipped a hand low and grasped somewhere she really shouldn't in public. Given how we were standing no one should see us, she'd get away with it, but the action had caught me off-guard.

This girl, who I didn't intend to keep in contact with once I left Eshan, was exceptionally good at distractions. Which, since I was highly focused on my and Anakin's training, might be why she'd sought me out. The idea of driving a Jedi to distraction must hold some appeal, as it was a trait she shared with Bo. I wouldn't deny that the thought of the two together had crossed my mind from time to time, but I wasn't dwelling on it as the odds of ever seeing it happen were slim. Instead, I was enjoying my time with Giulia, as it helped pass the evenings when I couldn't see Anakin, kept me occupied, and however slowly, helped me improve a group of skills I'd barely used since Naboo.

"That depends," I replied, not bothering to push her hand away. "What are your terms?"

I stepped closer, looking over her shoulder at the Square below. Anakin was moving off with the girl he'd just sparred with, the pair joining the rest of their Creche to head to their next lesson. That would be a meditation session as I knew Anakin's schedule like the back of my hand.

"The same as usual," she replied, blowing as best she could, on my ear. She then slipped under my arm, the hand tracing a path around my waist.

I let her go, keeping my eyes on Anakin. My son had settled into his Creche well, and I was relieved that he was far too young to be aware of what a full, unrestrained spar meant to the Echani. I knew that talk was coming at some point, and that he was probably dreading it more than me, but the longer I could put it off the better I'd feel.

Turning, I followed after Giulia, my eyes fixed on her shoulders no matter how much she swayed her hips. Around us, the other members of our Creche watched. Some male and female, glared at either of us, not liking we were enjoying each other's company. A few, again of both genders, seemed interested, but I wasn't sharing her with another male, no matter how much they might desire her. So long as I was here, she belonged to me, and I supposed, I did to her.

… …

… …
While Raven raced through the undulating eddies of hyperspace, taking us from Eshan, my mind wandered to how the last few months had gone. While the training there, along with the companion I'd found, had been intense, they had been worth it.

Five months had passed since we'd first entered the system, and at the end of that time, along with some help from the Interface, I was now rated as Master:1 for Echani. Truthfully, I'd finished the time on the planet at Professional: 21, but the use of spare Skill Points had helped boost that to the start of the Master tier. I could've spent the remaining Skill Points to raise it even higher, but I felt safer keeping them in reserve. Levels were harder to gain the higher up I went, and having spare Skill Points for future training quests, or others that tracked a skill, was worth keeping.

The training quest linked to learning Echani had finished with us leaving the system, but it wasn't the only one that came due while we were on the planet. Cash in Hand had finished when I'd turned eighteen, and with that, along with the sixth of my current level I got for my birthday – which wouldn't continue now I was eighteen – and the training quest had taken me to, and then a decent amount beyond Level 31. There was no extra reward for reaching Level 31, but Level 32 would bring about another Perk Point, and unless there was something massively impressive added to the list, I was leaning toward taking Stat Limit Boost to raise my physical stats to a combined maximum of 75. If I understood things correctly, that would take me to, or possibly just beyond, the accepted peak stats for a Human – possibly even most of the various sub-species that had evolved or been altered over the last twenty-thousand-plus years – in the galaxy. While it was relatively simple to boost my abilities with the Force, a higher starting point was never something to be ignored.

A downside that had occurred not long after my birthday was that, as I'd been expecting for some time, the Changing Fate [Sifo Dyas] quest had failed. I'd known the news was coming, and been bracing for it, yet when it hit, I'd needed to take a day away from the Academy to recentre myself. My bond with Darihd wasn't that impressive, at least compared to a handful of others, but he had been a friend, and losing him hurt more than I'd expected. That had to be a downside to not having the Interface filter my Force connection, but one that I accepted.

I'd miss Darihd and Sifo-Dyas – though not as much as Dooku would once he learnt of his associate's passing – but I'd known since Naboo this was going to happen. That said, the way my emotions turned in on themselves when I learnt Darihd had died, had been a surprise. It also had me concerned that if I didn't get a better grip on channelling and controlling my emotions, I'd be in a far worse state whenever anything happened to Serra, Bo, or – Force-forbid – Anakin.

The other penalty for failing the quest linked to Sifo-Dyas was minor, as I knew I was already in Sidious' crosshairs. However, I had to work from the position now that, before my friend and his Master had died, they'd revealed something of the Coalition. That group had fallen by the wayside a good bit since it had been formed, but it was a useful group within the Jedi that shared many, if not all, of my concerns about the coming darkness the Banite Sith were bringing forth. All that changed now was that the Banite Sith would be aware of me being aware of their presence in the galaxy, if not who and where they were. Still, it meant that whenever I next encountered the Sith Lords cum Co-Chancellors of the Republic, I'd have been even more mindful of my words and actions without letting on that I was doing so.

The one upside to Sifo-Dyas dying was seeing Changing Fate [Dooku] complete. Apparently his not being responsible for Sifo-Dyas' death was the spark the Interface was waiting for. It wasn't an objective of the quest, but it did make the end of that quest. That meant that Dooku was no longer bound to become Darth Tyrannus, and that, in theory, I could be more open about my plans for the future with him.

Now, we were both still Jedi, though neither of us were exactly loyal to nor trusting of the High Council, but we retained the inclination toward doing what was right. The change was in how we saw that. I knew he was having deep reservations about remaining with the Order, but now I felt I could be honest in my feelings regarding that as well. Perhaps he might even be willing to detail what his plans were there, including the hints he'd given on occasion about taking certain objects – what I assumed were holocrons – from the Jedi Archives before he left.

What the two quests finishing also confirmed, though I had no proof of it, was that a replacement for Dooku as Tyrannus had been found. While that was good in freeing Dooku from that path, I now had no idea who the new Sith Lord – or probably more accurately, Sith patsy – was, nor what they would do or how dangerous they were.

The doors to the cockpit opened, and I turned to see Anakin enter. "Hey," he said slowly, clearly nervous about something.

"What is it?" I asked back, gesturing toward the free co-pilot's seat.

He moved to the seat and sat, and only once comfortable, did he speak again. "I was wondering," he began quietly, "why are we heading to the Lokella?"

"What? You don't want to see your sister, Ferox, Lena, and your other friends?" I asked back, curious as to how this conversation was going to go. I knew it was coming ever since I'd told him we'd be heading to Mtael's Gift before continuing to the Shapers of Kro Var – the next group I wished for us to train with – after a side trip I had to make, but I hadn't expected it to come less than an hour after we'd entered hyperspace. It seemed Anakin was more alert to what was not being said than I'd given him credit for.

"I do, but there's more to this isn't there?" His question made clear he was aware that I was keeping something from him. "It's got to do with that call you got last week, doesn't it?"

I chuckled and shook my head, taking the moment to gather my thoughts for the conversation I'd not expected this soon. "When did you get so smart?" I shot back, one hand moving out to ruffle his hair. Anakin frowned at that, possibly thinking I was going to avoid his question altogether. "But yes, it has to do with the call. That came from Chancellor Damask." The call had been about the galactic premiere of Fellowship of the Ring, and while I couldn't not attend when the Co-Chancellors knew I was the 'creator', I didn't want Anakin with me. I smirked as Anakin's frown vanished as his eyebrows rose halfway to his hairline. "What? You didn't think I'd be in contact with him, but only Chancellor Palpatine?"

"No!" He shot out, only to blink as if caught out by the abruptness of his response. "I mean," he continued as one hand moved to scratch the back of his neck as I pulled my hand from his hair. "It makes sense, I guess, that you'd know him as well. I just don't see what that has to do with the Lokella, Not unless they're in danger."

"They're not, don't worry," I said cutting off that line of thought before it became an issue. "The reason we're going there is that I had a long-standing invitation come due with the Chancellor and I have to return to Coruscant because of it." I could see and sense his excitement rising as I mentioned the Republic capital. "Ah!" I added, cutting him off before he could begin. "I know I promised to take you there, and I will keep my word. However, it is better, and safer, for both of us if this isn't the time you visit."

"But why?" he half-whined. "I'm your Padawan and son, and should go everywhere with you."

"Because, among other reasons, of the second thing you've just said," I replied with a warm, and hopefully, fatherly, smile. "If the Jedi ever learnt that I'd adopted you, especially via Mando'ade traditions, at best, they'd demand that I no longer train you."

"I won't tell them."

I smiled, impressed by how earnest his statement was, both in voice and in the Force. "I believe you; I truly do. However, you wouldn't have to say or do anything for the Council to discover the truth." I leaned forward, closing the distance between us and placing my mechanical hand on his shoulder. "You're not skilled enough to hide your thoughts and desires from Jedi Masters, never mind those on the Council. Nor anyone else that might be interested in you being my Padawan."

Anakin's face twisted, as he thought on my words. A moment later, his eyes widened. "The Sith!" he blurted out, seeing part of the bigger picture.

"Yes. At least in part," I said as I removed my hand from his shoulder. "The one I fought, and barely defeated, on Naboo was powerful. However, I believe, and the Council agrees, that the Zabrak was but the apprentice and not the master. Which means that, wherever this Sith Lord is hiding, I have drawn his attention. The last thing I want to do is have him discover your existence, and choose to focus on you as well. At least not before you're ready."

I leaned back and sighed before continuing. "For a long time, perhaps ever since I arrived in this time, I've sensed a darkness in the universe. One that is malevolent, twisted, and growing stronger with each passing day. Now, while I was a Padawan, I didn't understand what the shifting of the Force meant, nor how to react to it. It was only when Masters Dooku, Fay, and others told me what they thought it meant, and what they could sense, that I understood it was a sign that the Sith weren't as gone as the Jedi liked to believe and that they were growing stronger in secret."

"Now, I don't know if these Sith are the same as those defeated a thousand years ago, a splinter of that group, or of the nearly countless other factions of Sith that have arisen over the millennia. What I do know is that they are active and growing stronger, and because of that, I'm wary of spending time on Coruscant. Can you think of why that might be?"

The idea of turning this into a teaching moment had been there ever since I'd known this talk was going to happen. I knew telling him the full truth wasn't possible, but if I could use this time to have him start understanding some of my concerns with the Jedi Council and Senate, then it would be useful for him later in life. I didn't want to scare him, to have him looking over his shoulder for threats that might not be there, or worry that the Banite Sith would seek to control and shape one or both of us because of our potential, but I also knew I couldn't avoid the topic entirely. I'd just expected this to take place a little closer to Mtael's Gift.

While he was there, Dooku could oversee his training for the short time I'd be away, and then when I returned, I could, if he so wished, go into greater detail regarding my concerns with the state of the galaxy, and what the future might bring forth. He might be young for learning even part of the truth, but I wasn't going to hide things from him. That was, I suspected, something Obi-Wan had done in the other timeline, which Sidious had exploited to turn Anakin against his friend and Master, and by extension the Jedi and Republic. I needed to work on making sure such cracks in my bond with Anakin never appeared so that when the time came, we wouldn't be driven apart.

There was some of the Changing Fate quest for Anakin in my thinking, along with him now being my son, but the greatest part of my logic came from the Force, or more accurately, the visions it had granted me and Anakin. Those were clear in that if we were to survive the oncoming darkness, we had to do so together. If I did otherwise, if I failed, then not only would I be letting myself and Anakin down, but I'd be betraying Shmi as well. She might be gone, but Anakin was her child, and she'd want the best for him.

"You think the Sith are on Coruscant?!" Anakin blurted out, shock and surprise evident in his voice.

I smiled and shook my head in response. "No. At least not directly. However, I, Masters Dooku and Fay, and others, suspect that, as these Sith move in the shadows, keeping themselves hidden from the Order, they have a way to monitor the Senate. And through that, the Order."

"Almost every Council meeting at the Temple, and much of the more public locations as well, are recorded, and the Senators and those working for them in the Senate can access those recordings with relative ease. Because of this, if the Sith wanted to monitor the Jedi, then gaining influence and control of certain people in the Senate would be the easiest method to do so."

"But wouldn't the Jedi realise this and stop it?"

"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" I replied with a question of my own. "However, the Jedi Council has, at least in my eyes, grown lax in its monitoring of any threat the Sith might pose. Much of that has to do with the Ruusan Reformation, and how it placed the Order needing Senate approval to act. Add in that with no Sith to counter, the Jedi turned inward and only engaged with the Republic via the Senate, especially the Chancellor's office, then their mistake was an easy one to have happened, but still a problem I have to consider."

"Do you think one of the Chancellors is a Sith?"

"Force, I hope not!" I replied with a loud chuckle, hiding how close to the truth Anakin had come. "The idea that one of them might be a Sith is, concerning, even if not technically illegal. But no, I don't think either is a Sith, but I wonder if perhaps someone in their close circle is, or works for a Sith Lord."

"Why don't you tell the Jedi Council about that?" His question was asked earnestly, but there was a faint hint of doubt in his voice. That might well be due to some of the distrust toward the Council that I and Dooku maintained, or perhaps it was a sign he was beginning to question everything he was told. While I'd prefer the latter, even if it would make raising him harder, that doubt might be another sign that he regarded me far better than he did the Order.

"Until about two years ago, I was like you; a lowly Padawan. While my Masters believed as I do, the Council wasn't going to take our word for it. Not without proof."

"But the Zabrak you killed on Naboo is proof!" Anakin shot back. "They have to see the danger now!"

"They accept that the Sith were not as dead and buried as they had once stated, but beyond the fact the Zabrak used the Dark Side – something confirmed by Serra and Master Jinn – and killed Master Drallig, that is the extent to what they will confirm believing. The suggestion that the Sith have any influence in the Senate wasn't one they were willing to discuss when I spoke to them on Naboo."

"But they have to do something!"

"What would you suggest?"

"Send out every Jedi to hunt down the Sith!"

"Why?"

"Because the Sith are evil!"

"Only the Sith deal in absolutes," I replied with a chuckle, "or at least that's what the Jedi proclaim." I waved my hand, pushing the comment away. "To the Sith, I'm certain they consider the Jedi evil, if not weak and stupid for not using the Force to shape the galaxy. Because the Republic stands with the Order and has always done so when the Sith have grown strong enough to declare open war, the Sith would surely consider it evil as well.

"Another issue is that, while the Jedi are meant to root out and destroy the Sith, they cannot hold Republic office. Rather amusingly, there is nothing in the law that says a Sith couldn't, nor to make following the teaching of the Sith, regardless of which branch those teachings are from, illegal." That little fact had amused Adas greatly when I'd explained history from the New Sith Wars until now. "Also consider that while all Force users are under the purview of the Jedi, according to Republic law, the Republic is, bar along the major hyperspace lanes, all but a distant power in the Outer Rim.

"Returning to your idea of sending out all the Jedi to hunt down the Sith," I continued, changing tack as he processed what I'd just revealed to him, "consider that there are, at a rough estimate, perhaps ten thousand Jedi of Padawan rank or higher. Now, how many of those of Padawan rank do you think could defeat me in a spar?"

"None." I chuckled at the faith Anakin had in me. "Well, maybe one or two."

"Okay, now consider that I barely beat the apprentice. Against the Master, I'd be a dead man walking. The same would be the case for most if not all, Knights. Meaning none but a Jedi Master, and one focused on combat, would stand a chance against a Sith Lord." Anakin gulped, getting the seriousness of my point. "Thus, sending out groups of lower-ranked Jedi to search for a Sith Lord would only end in their deaths. The only way to take the Sith Lord down would be a group of Jedi Masters. Thus, given the number of Jedi versus the number of sentients in the Republic, to say nothing of those outside of it, then the chances of the Jedi discovering the Sith Lord unless they want to be found, is close enough to be treated as zero."

In theory, by collectively meditating in the Force, the Council should be able to find the Banite Sith. However, the pair had done something when or before I had arrived in this era to dampen the Jedi's ability to peer into the Force and locate and find events happening elsewhere. That was allowing them to move even easier than they already were while further limiting the Jedi's ability to find them.

This, for lack of a better term, Dark Side shroud, hadn't been something that I'd understood before losing the Interface's filtering of the Force. Or more accurately I'd not understood what was going on. I couldn't claim to do so now, but thanks to Natural Selection and conversations with Adas, I had a clearer picture of what the shroud was. Adas, since he wasn't alive, couldn't be certain, but he felt I should if I allowed my desires and wants to shape my thoughts, be able to either pierce the shroud or possibly even use it to enhance my ability to sense others over distance. However, I was reluctant to do so on the chance one or both Banite Sith sensed me doing so.

Perhaps, in a few years, once I was more comfortable with the path I would be walking, and accepted my choices – whatever they might be – I could do so. I certainly would need the insight once war broke out across the galaxy. Until then, however, I would be cautious whenever I searched within the Force.

"They can't just do nothing! The Jedi have to try!" Anakin protested, his annoyance at what I was saying flooding into the Force. At the same time, I felt that hint of doubt grow stronger, confirming it was linked to the Jedi and their failings. Interestingly, I hadn't planned for this conversation to head to this topic, at least not during the first time the matter came up, but considering what we'd already touched on, and what I planned to bring up, it made sense my words were causing him to lose ever more faith in the Jedi and Republic.

"They do, but as I said, because of the Reformation, they are restrained as to how they can search for the Sith. At least without the approval of the Senate or Chancellors. If as I, and others such as Master Dooku, suspect that the Sith have influence with one or both of those entities, then it would explain the Jedi's lack of drive. It also feeds into a theory I have that the Sith were directing the Trade Federation to invade Naboo. I can't be certain of that, however, as Viceroy Gunray died before he could reach Coruscant. Yet, the fact he was murdered before he reached the Republic capital suggests the Sith moved to silence him and protect their interests." I'd been the one, through HK, to remove Gunray, but suggesting that the Sith had been responsible was an easy way to accredit blame to a believable party, and it was something I'd mentioned to Master Shaak Ti when I'd last spoken to her.

I went silent after that, letting Anakin ponder what I'd said. While there were other things I wished to cover, either today or later before we reached Mtael's Gift, I wasn't going to push him toward those until he'd had time to digest what I'd said so far. It was unlikely that he'd suggest anything that I hadn't already thought of, but Anakin was insightful and smart, and sometimes the innocence of youth allowed one to see something an older, more jaded mind might miss.

"That's why you helped the Lokella, isn't it? And why you became a Mandalorian." I smirked at his thoughts going there, at least to the point he was willing to voice them. "You were making friends for fighting the Sith."

I shrugged as I replied, pushing aside the concern that the Banite Sith had realised my intentions as Anakin had. "For the Lokella, it was a stroke of luck, or the Force guiding me if you wish to believe that that led me and Master Dooku to intervene there. As you know, a transport we were travelling aboard was attacked by slavers. Sensing something about it, we decided to follow the breadcrumbs back to their source. In the process of ending the operation, we created a colony of freed slaves who now work to pass along that freedom to others."

"But I'm right about Bo and the Mandalorians."

"Partly. I didn't go to Mandalore seeking allies, nor to find a lover." Anakin's forehead creased there, showing he was thankfully still too young to understand the enjoyment a lover could bring. "I was twelve at the time. However, as I learnt more about the danger threatening the Republic, I did my best to grow those initial friendships further, going so far as to secure alliances with two of the most powerful Houses of Mando'ade culture." I chuckled, finding amusement in how I'd first used those alliances. "Something that, while not the original purpose for them, the Naboo and Gungans are grateful for." Along with a certain queen and at least one of her handmaidens. "The issue there though, is that now the Senate, Jedi, and the Sith through their spying, are aware of my connections to both groups and that the Mando'ade are not as broken and uncoordinated as they might've believed." The reveal of the Ne'tra Tal'ade, which I'd known bugger all about was a nuisance, but it would serve to worry others. Maybe even force the Sith to alter their plans in a way that might, perhaps, delay them bringing about the destruction of the Jedi and Republic.

One thing I was overplaying, simply because I wanted to avoid going into detail, was how much support I had among the Mando'ade. Dukes Adonai and Torrhen supported me, as did many of the clans who followed them, but that support was far from universal. I'd had to pay everyone that came to fight for Naboo, and while it hadn't cost anywhere near as much as I'd feared – due to the reward I'd been given for organizing the liberation force – and the losses would soon be recouped by the holomovies, it had spread my name further among my fellow Mando'ade. That, I suspected, was going to be useful in the decade to come.

"Bo said you should become Mand'alor." I coughed hard, caught out by the shift in topic and choking on nothing. My hand slipped from Anakin's arm as I leaned forward, trying to recover.

"Wh-when did she say that?" I asked between coughs.

"During the celebration on Naboo. When I stayed with her." I shook my head as I recovered from the surprise, making a mental note to punish Bo for placing such ideas in Anakin's head. That said if I wasn't careful then knowing Bo, she'd enjoy being punished. "She thinks you'd be a good leader to her… for our people."

"That is a discussion for another time," I replied slowly, not outright dismissing the idea, as even if I felt it unlikely to happen, it was one I'd had before, "after I've spoken to Bo about putting ideas into your head." I knew that while Bo might like the idea, there were many other Mando'ade, perhaps a majority even, who'd never accept a former Jedi as their leader. And that was without counting those like Pre Vizsla who sought the title of Mand'alor for themselves, challenging me if I tried to take the role. "For now, let's stay on topics at least linked to why I don't want you to come with me to Coruscant this time."

Anakin nodded and I gave him time to think on my earlier words. "I think I understand," he said carefully as I swore I saw the gears in his head turning. "You don't want the Jedi, Chancellors, or anyone else, knowing that you've adopted and are training me in the Force and Mandalorian traditions. If they learnt of it, then the Sith might, and they'd send someone after us, which would be dangerous for us and others."

"That's the gist of it, yes," I replied with a smile. "I don't fear the Chancellors knowing of you per se," which was a lie, "but that by them learning of you, and your potential with the Force being greater than any Jedi ever, would leak to the Sith. In their shoes, I'd move planets to capture you so they could either remove a threat or bend you to their desires and use your power to destroy the galaxy." I held up my mechanical hand, cutting off before he interrupted. "Yes, I know you'd fight to not let that happen, but I have, thanks to the Bando Gora, an inkling of the pain they would inflict to break you. I wouldn't wish that suffering on anyone, not my worst enemy, and certainly not my ad. However, as things stand, neither of us is even close to the point where we could survive an encounter with a Sith Lord, never mind trying to defeat one. Nor do we have the support and allies that would be able to do so for us."

Anakin gave a single nod; his face having drained of some colour while I'd touched on the dangers we faced if his existence became common knowledge to certain people. Seeing that, I leaned forward and squeezed his upper arm. "I'm not saying this to scare you, An'ika. I just believe that you need to be aware of the truth behind my reasons. Or at least as much as I feel you are ready to hear." One day I'd bring him in on everything, but it would be a good five years or so before I felt he'd be ready for that.

"I… I know," he said quietly even as he made sure to meet my gaze. "I just… I didn't think that this… that the vision we shared…"

I smirked, knowing exactly what he was talking about. "Yeah, I know. That vision was different from any I've had before or since. Though I should say that I don't get many visions," I added with what I hoped was a comforting smirk. I did get visions and had seen a few since taking Natural Selection, but none had been as vivid or detailed as the one he was speaking about had been. "That one was unusually strong and intense, but no vision is a certain to coming to pass. I learnt that the hard way on Naboo."

Serra had visions of me dying if I fought Maul alone, which was why she'd come. I'd worked to not have that happen because of my visions of seeing Drallig dye at Maul's hands and Serra potentially mortally wounded. I'd not managed to keep her away, and because of that Drallig had arrived. In my arrogance, I'd thought sending them to another part of Theed, somewhere I'd not expected Maul to be, would keep them safe. Yet, that had only resulted in them meeting him, and my vision coming true which was a mistake I'd not be making again. The counter to that, and why I was reluctant to believe every vision was certain, was Serra's vision, which didn't come true.

I had touched on the topic briefly with Dooku when I'd been hopping between Naboo and Mtael's Gift, but I wanted to go into the topic of visions, and their potentially conflicting nature, before I headed to Coruscant. Outside of Fay, there was no one I knew who should know more about Force visions and that I trusted to listen honestly to my concerns.

Fay was, of course, unavailable as she was still somewhere in the Deep Core seeking out Typhon. I knew she was alive, as even with my ability to sense others in the Force not what it once was – at least for the time being – I could feel her at the edges of my mind if I focused on her. However, that was all I knew, and I just had to hope that Satele Shan's holocron was leading her as intended to the spiritual homeworld of the Jedi.

"Why does the Force show us such things?"

I blinked, surprised at the insightful question. "That's a great question, however, I cannot provide anything close to a good answer for it. Master Dooku might be able to shed some light on the matter, but I suspect even he and Master Fay would struggle to give a definite answer. The Force is something beyond our ability to understand. It's as alien to us as must seem to a blade of grass or grain of sand. Yet it is because of the Force that we, along with others with strong connections to it, can use it to influence ourselves, others, and even events happening around us." I paused as I saw my wording was veering more toward Sith thinking than that of the Jedi. I'd promised him that he could try following the Jedi teaching first, so I had to alter what I was saying because of that. "The Force is there to help and guide us if we so wish, and empower us if a need to do so arises. It is not, however, something we can ever hope to understand. You understand that it seeks balance," he nodded, "and it works through those of us with strong connections to achieve this. Or at least that is my, admittedly limited, opinion on it."

"It wants to end evil?"

I chuckled. "Possibly," I began, reminded of how I'd first viewed the Force, Jedi, and Sith back when I was far younger, less jaded, and long before I'd been reborn in this galaxy. "It is certainly what many Jedi believe at any rate. I, however, am beginning to think that isn't the case. If it were, then every Force sect outside of the Jedi would either be brought under the full control of the Order or, in the case of the Sith and other Dark Side sects, sought out and destroyed with the support of the Force. This, however, never occurs, nor do the Jedi seek to reign in the other Force sects, such as the Matukai, that exist in the galaxy. Some of those sects use what the Jedi consider the Light Side while others use the Dark Side. Some, such as the Witches of Dathomir, have subgroups that use the two sides while all being regarded as the same overall sect."

Anakin nodded as I spoke, taking in my words as the conversation once more drifted. We had talked about the Force before, and what it allowed us to do, but this was getting into a more serious, possibly even philosophical, discussion. Anakin was, as always, interested in trying to understand the Force, but there was only so much I could teach him given my understanding of it being limited and twisted by my ideals.

"If the Force doesn't want to remove evil, then what does it mean to say it wants balance?"

"That's another good question," I said with a smile. "I wish I could give you a clear, definite answer, but I can't. Nor I suspect, could any Force user no matter what they believe or sect they're a part of. I can, however, offer an analogy that I think fits well for understanding what the Force might be trying to achieve." He nodded and I pulled back, settling properly into my seat. "The Force is a, pardon the pun, force of nature even if it is not fully part of nature. Like nature, be that in flora or fauna, it seeks balance within its ecosystem, but again, like nature, when one element, one area, grows dominant, then everything falls out of alignment."

"If a predatorial species grows too numerous, then the prey dwindles, affecting the entire food chain. If a foreign plant is introduced to an ecosystem and then starts starving local plants of nutrients, then the system falls out of balance. What I'm beginning to suspect is that the Force behaves in the same way, with those who can access it like the animals and planets within the system."

A hand moved toward one of the consoles, and the lights in the cockpit grew bright; almost painfully so. "Don't cover your eyes," I said, knowing he was doing that even as I struggled to see him. "Look around. Tell me what you see?"

"Light!"

"Is that all there is? Look carefully."

I closed my eyes partially, dimming the room. In blurred images, I saw Anakin lift an arm to shield his eyes even as his head moved around. "There's shadows. Not as many as before, but they're still there. and darker."

"Exactly." I touched the console again, lowering the light back to normal levels. "The brighter the light becomes, the smaller but darker the shadows it generates." Another press at the console and the lights turned off leaving us, minus Raven's running lights that blinked and flowed along her skin and the swirls of hyperspace, in darkness. Another press and the viewport darkened as well. "If the light is removed, even totally, the darkness seems to consume everything. Yet, once we adjust to the darkness, we can still see. Light still exists in such a place, even if it's hard to see; much like with shadows in the brightest room." With another few taps the room once more returned to its normal level of brightness. "This, at least to me, is what balance in the Force is about. Neither side of the Force can be allowed to dominate, a least not for too long. If they do, then it creates an imbalance that the Force will seek to correct. As for how it does that," I shrugged, "I don't know, and that is another topic for another day. Not because you're too young," which he was, but it wasn't the biggest issue, "but because I haven't got much more than a wild inkling of how to go about it." Anakin smirked at my reasoning, which was accurate. "Again though, we've strayed off topic slightly. However, I think this, and the rest of our talk have helped explain my reasoning for you to remain with the Lokella when I head to Coruscant."

"Yes," he said slowly with a weak nod. "I mean, I still think it would be fine for me to go now, but I think I understand why you're scared." Not the words I'd have used, but close enough. "and as you'll only be there a short time, it should be okay." I smiled, glad to see he was willing to accept my order on the matter. "But, when you go, can you get me something?"

"Such as?"

"I… I don't know."

At his sheepish reply, I laughed and leaned forward, ruffling his hair. "Well, you've got until I depart for Coruscant to decide." I pulled my hand back and as he worked to flatten his hair, turned back to the controls.

It was going to take a few days to reach the Lokella system, and by then I expected him to know what he wanted. That, however, was a minor matter, and I was glad that, in the end, he understood and accepted my reasoning for him not coming with me. Minor bribe aside. There were other reasons, the obvious one being not revealing the Chosen One to the Jedi and Sith, but those were matters he didn't need to know currently.

What I could now turn my attention to, at least in part, was facing Dooku once I reached Mtael's Gift. I wasn't sure if I was ready to face another powerful Force user, but if I were to face the Banite Sith Lords I had to test my resolve and barriers. Because he knew me as well as anyone, and I didn't think he'd be as concerned as Fay or others would be about my Dark Side taint, Dooku was the ideal person to test my defences. Anakin could no longer sense that within me, not unless I let it out, but Dooku should be able to find and help me fix the gaps in my mental protection. At least enough that, when I faced the Co-Chancellors-cum-Sith-Lords, I'd not give away the truth of what I was capable of, or that the barrier holding me back was gone.

… …

… …

"Ferox!"

The excited cry came from Anakin as we stepped down from Raven onto the deck of Mtael's Gift and he saw the old Corellian. Several of the Lokella working in the bay turned at Anakin's call, but most returned to their work, unconcerned or uninterested in his behaviour. A few, those that I suspected had already been watching Raven, offered nods that were a hair from being a bow to me. Those were likely the older members of the Lokella and while I wished they'd move past the almost idol worship they held toward me; I knew there was nothing I could do to demand they stop.

As my feet touched the deck, I turned to those following behind. "You're free to wander Fenrir, but behave yourself," I said to the giant beast. The tuk'ata whined as if insulted by the suggestion he would misbehave. "Don't give me that," I shot back with a smile, "we both know you enjoy causing chaos almost as much as you enjoy a hunt. Haran, if you behave, then I'll speak with the Lokella and Dooku about allowing you to head down to Gaia for some fun.

There were beasts on the planet, and almost all ran free as the settlement there was centred around the phrik mines. That meant Fenrir had when I allowed it, almost free reign to head into the forest and jungles of the planet to hunt and establish dominance over the local fauna. So far, he'd not encountered anything that could challenge him, but I knew that might not last. Still, I wasn't going to deny him his fun.

That had him walk forward happily; head held high as he surveyed the bay. "HK," I said to the droid as he and R2 brought up the rear of our party. "Don't start anything, not even by inciting others to attack first."

"Indignation: I would never do such a thing, Master. Addendum: At least not toward your allies." That made me smirk and drew a series of excited beeps and whistles from R2.

"That means everyone on this station," I stated so he didn't try anything with any visitors. While the system was isolated, I'd seen a few freighters moving to and from the station and since they weren't Lokella owned, that suggested they'd begun trading with others. Hopefully, it was only a small amount of phrik as I didn't want the wrong groups – mega corporations or pirates – thinking about attacking the system to take control of the mines. However, I wasn't going to stop the Lokella from trading, though I might suggest a few groups to avoid. "R2, the same warning goes for you." The astromech beeped in indignation and rocked from side to side. "No playing innocent. You're getting as bad as HK for trickery. Thankfully, you're minus almost all of his weaponry."

Thanks to Anakin and HK, R2 had been upgraded to be able to defend himself. He only carried a pair of concealed – and at HK's insistence, jammed from scanners – holdout blasters, but it meant he wasn't as defenceless as he had been. Anakin and HK had other plans for upgrading R2, but those had been on hold for a while as I didn't want to turn the astromech into a rolling death machine. One such droid like that was enough for now.

"I'll have the technicians refuel and service Raven," Simvyl said, drawing my attention to him, "so we'll be ready to depart when you want."

"Thanks," I said, giving him a nod before turning and heading to one side of the bay. As had happened before, I could sense Dooku was above me on the gantry that overlooked the bay. While I was grateful that I'd not have to head down to the planet to locate him, the fact I felt Vosa was nearby wasn't something I was happy about. Before taking Natural Selection I felt I was almost ready to face her again, but since then I'd been reluctant to do so. Especially now, when I needed Dooku's help to hide the changes that happened to me with the Force free of the Interface. That said, having her nearby, but not too close, would be a useful way to gauge how well I was doing in controlling my emotions and maintaining control when near those I'd rather not be close to.

There was a small chance that because she'd gone bat-shit crazy – even if she wasn't now – that she'd sense the darker side of me behind the shields I'd created easier than Dooku. That was a concern, but I felt she'd not react to that. Or at least I hoped she didn't.

Those thoughts lasted until I reached the top of the gantry and saw Dooku standing nearby, looking as regal as ever. "Master," I said as I approached, lowering my head slightly. "I'm pleased to see you again." Vosa was at the back of the gantry, near the hatch that led out of the bay. There was a moment as Dooku turned to face me where it seemed she was excited, but she pushed it away and remained where she was; something for which I was grateful.

"As am I Cameron, though I sense that you have undergone something of a change since we last spoke." A single eyebrow rose as he finished, making clear the question he wasn't going to ask but wanted me to answer.

"Yes. After Naboo, and handling running back and forth between here and there, I spent time in isolation on a remote world. There, with some meditation and no distractions, I understood how to overcome the limitations surrounding my ability with the Force. And now I can draw fully on it when I require."

The eyebrow rose higher. "While not perhaps how the Council would enjoy hearing you phrase it, it is an accurate description nonetheless." He took a step toward me, his eyes examining me clinically while I felt his mind press against mine through the Force, probing for changes I'd not mentioned. "Your presence within the Force is far stronger than it was before, even with your attempts to restrict that for my examination. The moment you arrived in-system, the change was obvious to myself and Komari," my eyes drifted to the former leader of the Bando Gora for a moment. "It was clear even then that you were attempting to limit how obvious the changes you've undergone are, however, you forgot to consider that those trained with the Force can sense such things for great distances. What I sense from you now is a barely sufficient barrier to hide the change, but because of what I have just said, it is for nought. Especially to one such as I who has spent considerable time around you and is aware of how you should feel within the Force. This is something Komari can also sense."

My gaze returned to the former Bando Gora leader, seeing her smiling at me, her tongue just slipping through her lips. The gaze, while lacking almost all the viciousness of what I remembered, was effective in bringing forth memories of my time under her tender mercies. Knowing I couldn't dwell upon them, as they'd breached the shroud I'd created – under guidance from Adas – to hide my power and mind, I pushed the memories, and the connected emotions back down into the depths of my mind. The lid that sat over them and other painful and enraging memories slid back into place, sealing them away again.

"Impressive." Dooku's comment had my eyes snap to him. "I sensed the residual anger you feel toward her rise, however it was soon dismissed. Still, you would do well to not allow even a fleeting memory to influence your actions in the present."

"Might I infer from your comment that you have moved on from your mistakes with Vosa and upon Galidraan, Master?" I asked with a smirk. I knew I was striking a nerve, but I wanted to make clear that unless he had done so, he wasn't speaking from high ground on the matter of moving on from past experiences.

For the longest time those two events, even though I'd never know about them until after being reborn, had been drivers in what shaped his path into, in the other timeline, becoming Tyrannus. Yet even though he had become a Sith, he hadn't, from what I knew, ever lost himself in the Dark Side, never surrendered to its insanities. Something I believed was what caused the yellow eyes some Sith developed. His mind was far too rigid and disciplined to allow any but himself to control it, even if that belief – verging on arrogance – was probably how Sidious had decided him for nearly a decade.

There was a slight movement of Dooku's lips, though that was the only outward reaction to by barbed response. Nor was there any hint in the Force of anything regarding my words. "I feel I have done so sufficiently that those events, and others you remain unaware of, no longer provide unwanted influence and impetus upon my actions. However, I do not feel you are close to achieving that, nor that Komari is ready to return to playing a larger role in galactic society."

I snorted, not bothering to hide my feelings on the matter. "With respect, I doubt she ever will be. Though perhaps that might not be an issue."

Dooku's eyebrow moved slightly. "I sense you have an idea that might provide Komari with unexpected motivation."

"I think we all agree that she'll never rejoin the Order." Dooku nodded in agreement. "Yet you can't keep her locked at your side. Eventually, she will grow to resent that, and problems that existed before, but are now more manageable, might resurface. Letting her run free in the galaxy is dangerous, and not just because I plan to mention that, along with the Sith I defeated on Naboo, the Bando Gora were involved in the attack that forced Chancellor Damask to wear the mask he now has to."

"Is it wise to reveal that to the new Chancellor? We know the Sith are close to the orbit of the Senate, so informing the Magister of this fact would soon find its way to the attention of the Sith."

"Perhaps it's not wise, but keeping it from him means sitting on information that he would want to know. The Sith targeted him for a reason, perhaps that was so he didn't become Co-Chancellor, or maybe it was another reason that we aren't aware of. Regardless, he deserves to know there's a threat toward his life." Which he'd know was coming from Sidious. It was unlikely the information would cause any friction between the pair, but it was worth seeing if it might. Plus, from an 'I knew nothing' perspective, Damask was an ally, and alerting him to the potential danger was something I should do.

Dooku took a moment to consider my words, a hand coming up to stoke his beard. "I will admit that the thought that the Sith were targeting the then Magister had occurred to me as well. However, sending any message via Holonet would risk being intercepted and traced." Dooku paused, the hand coming down. "That, I suspect, is a partial reason for why you and your Padawan have returned to this system."

"As always, Master, your insight is correct. The Chancellor contacted me directly about a week ago. A long-standing invitation to the premiere of the Fellowship of the Ring holomovie has come due."

"He and Chancellor Palpatine are aware you are the creator of this work?"

"They are," I replied, ignoring that I hadn't created anything, simply copying over the work of someone from another universe into this one. "Due to his connection to the Banking Clan, Magister Damask wished to determine the author of the series. When we spoke about it, he expressed his surprise to discover that a Jedi was the author, which was during our meeting with then-Senator Palpatine regarding the threat posed by the Vong."

"I recall you mentioning that meeting."

I nodded at his recollection. "Because both Chancellors are aware of my involvement in the project, and that Chancellor Damask is a fan of the series, I promised that when the holomovies were premiered, I'd attend the gathering alongside them. None of us expected that by that point they would be Chancellors of the Republic, and I'd have helped free Chancellor Palpatine's homeworld from invasion."

"Normally, an invitation from a Chancellor for a newly Knighted Jedi to attend such an event might raise eyebrows. However, as you mentioned, your role in the liberation of Naboo grants you a valid reason for such an invitation to be extended. Some will still question your presence, but they would question anything happening around politicians, so you should not attract undue attention. At least from those not attuned to the Force. Which, I see now, is the primary reason for your visit, along with your Padawan being the only recorded Force user with a greater midi-chlorian count than your own."

"That and, as I explained to him on our voyage here, introducing him to the Chancellors, and bringing him to the attention of people I'd rather remained unaware of who and what he is." I sighed rather loudly. "As you know, I don't place great stock in prophecy or vision, or at least I didn't before Naboo. However, I understand that Anakin, because of his potential, will have a role to play in facing, and I hope defeating, the darkness we know is gathering. The longer the Sith remain unaware of his existence, the less chance there is that they move to either remove him or Force-forbid, turn him."

"And what of the Council? Should they not be made aware of Anakin's status as your Padawan, and his possible role as the Chosen One?"

I fought back an urge to snort. Dooku's opinion on the Council was lower than mine, and he'd agreed along with Fay about keeping Anakin hidden from the Order when we'd first 'discovered' him on Tatooine, I knew he'd never agree to have Anakin trained at the Temple. And certainly not by anyone who fully obeyed the Council. "If I recall the words correctly, the teaching of a Padawan is entirely at their Master's discretion. Something you and Master Fay reminded the Council after one of my misdemeanours as your Padawan." There was a faint twitch of Dooku's lips, meaning he got the point and found it amusing. "However, disregarding that, given the changes I've brought about in my connection to the Force, and how, as you commented on when I arrived, I still have work to do on controlling that change, I feel it safer if I give the Temple a wide berth. At least for the time being. Which is one reason why I shall be leaving him here for the week or so while I return to Coruscant."

"Your Padawan has accepted this?" I nodded. "Impressive. Both that you managed to convince him, I suspect without revealing all of your concerns," I nodded again, "and that he has the wisdom to understand and accept your reasoning."

"He is far brighter than most his age. A result of his upbringing before we discovered him. Still, while he doesn't know the full details of why I am reluctant for him to accompany me this time, he had agreed to remain behind."

"It speaks well, both for you and him, that he can think rationally, without emotion clouding his judgment, and follow concepts and ideas that would normally be beyond him. How long before you must arrive on Coruscant?" Dooku said, shifting topics.

"The premiere is a little over two weeks from now, but I plan to arrive several days before so that I might speak with the Chancellors."

"Hmm. While not ideal, that should allow me time to help you strengthen your defences and hide, to a degree, the changes you have undergone from most cursory examinations by a Force user. It will also allow me to examine what effect this change has caused to your form."

"About that," I said slowly with a slight grimace, "because I don't yet feel entirely comfortable with the changes I've undergone, I hadn't yet rebuilt my lightsaber. For the time being, I'm relying on the shoto blade and the beskad."

"Has that not left you vulnerable while you have traversed the galaxy with your Padawan?"

"For the most part, it hasn't, Master. I've been hiding my status as a Jedi beneath the Mandalorian armour I have." I was wearing some currently, but as with when I was behaving more as a Jedi than Mando'ade, it was aligned with what was worn by Jedi in times of war than the full armour one would expect of the Mando'ade. "As I'm also, generally, avoiding major systems and places that might have significant Jedi presence, it's been enough to keep me safe. For the most part."

"Would the other part be related to the ripples of anger I sensed from you nearly half a year ago?"

I'd hoped to avoid this coming up, but the chances that Dooku and Fay – to say nothing of others who might know my Force presence well – not having sensed my reaction to what had happened were slim. As such, I knew I couldn't avoid the issue.

"Yes, Master. Anakin was, through no fault of his own, kidnapped by Trandoshans for a hunt." My tone was as calm as I could keep it, but I knew I wasn't doing a perfect job. When I mentioned the hunt, Dooku's brow creased, an outward sign of his distaste for the practice, or perhaps the species in general. "I was able to locate him quickly enough that he wasn't physically harmed. However, of the dozen younglings with him only three others survived; something only possible due to Anakin taking command of the situation."

"I'm pleased you didn't avoid the topic. For the record, I was aware of what happened from speaking to young Lena. Komari has taken to protecting the girl while she is here, possibly as she senses something in her that reminds Komari of herself at such an age." I gave a brief nod, not wanting to return my thoughts to Vosa. "The girl has settled well, and is currently on Gaia, learning at one of several youth houses for those children the Lokella have rescued and taken in who cannot locate any relatives."

"I'm glad to hear that. What she and the others endured is not something I'd wish on any youngling. I also suspect that Anakin will wish to speak with her while here."

"That can easily be arranged." He paused for a moment. "Returning to the Trandoshans. The, shall we say, burst of unrestrained anger that I and Komari sensed from you was deeply concerning. I feared that perhaps, you had succumbed to the madness such actions can bring forth. While I now understand what brought it on, and that you appear to have maintained your composure after the event, I would remind you that emotional displays, particularly such negative ones, are unworthy of a Jedi. Especially one that I have invested considerable time and energy toward training.

"Yes, Master."

"I shall not ask what became of the Trandoshans, only wish confirmation that they received a punishment worthy of their heinous actions." I nod to confirm that, neither of us wishing to have him fully aware of how I'd punished them. I knew Dooku wouldn't care that they'd all been executed for their crimes, as he considered such creatures, along with many others, beneath him. What I wouldn't be revealing, nor focusing on, was the methods I'd used to dispatch the Trandoshans and how I'd extracted anything useful from them before their deaths. "Excellent. Yet, while you have recovered from the incident, I can still sense the lingering after-presence of that anger. While an inability to truly let go of your emotions has been a flaw you have long since possessed, I believe that with the changes I can sense from you, you require greater work on if not removing this flaw, then overcoming it."

"I have been trying, Master."

"I can sense that. However, your improvement, while acceptable to many, is far from the standards I expect from a former Padawan. As I cannot test your resolve and progress through a spar, I will have to determine other methods while you are on the station to see where you stand, and what additional training I can offer to further enhance your defences."

"Yes, Master."

I'd known that I'd have to endure this once the invitation from Damask had come in, and been preparing myself for it. I wasn't looking forward to it, as Dooku was harsh, almost to the point of expecting perfection, taskmaster. However, outside of Adas, who I was reluctant to turn to currently, there was no one else I felt could help me sufficiently in the time I had to prepare before I came face to face with the two Banite Sith that stood as Co-Chancellors of the Republic.

… …

… …
A/N: That's the 2nd of 4 sects/groups Cam and party will visit covered. Next chapter... well, time to head to a holomovie premiere and catch up with some 'friends'.

...
This story is cross-posted on Fanfiction.net, Archive of our Own, and Royal Road.
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A New Player in the Force (SW/Lite Gamer)

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